


Resuscitatio Artium Magicarum

by Xomniac



Category: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-06
Updated: 2015-10-28
Packaged: 2018-03-10 17:13:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 29
Words: 199,575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3298055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xomniac/pseuds/Xomniac
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tartarus: the fabled prison said to hold all of the demons of Equus at bay.</p><p>Few truly know what lies behind the impenetrable doors Cerberus guards. Some say that it is a pit, infinite in it's depth and darkness, from which there is no return. Other claim it to be a hellish plain, filled with fire and pain and suffering, to punish the demons for their sins.</p><p>All of them are wrong.</p><p>Tartarus is small. An inescapable cell for a single prisoner. But the tales about it's purpose are not false.</p><p>For this captive human holds the key to unleashing upon Equestria forces which have not been seen for centuries, forces which predate Equestria by many an age.</p><p>And soon, he shall be free.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Beginning of the End

_“Equestria.”_

_“Home of the Princess of the Sun, Celestia, the Princess of the Moon, Luna, the Elements of Harmony, and Ponykind in general.”_

_“For centuries and centuries and centuries, Equestria has been peaceful. No war, no conflict, the people want for practically nothing. Truly a utopia.”_

“But it wasn’t always like this, you know.” Discord continued aloud as he gazed down at the land arrayed before him.

After a moment of silence, the draconequus smirked sardonically. “Oh, what’s with that look on your face? Surprised that it was  _me_  giving the introduction? That I’m actually speaking to you directly? Oh, or maybe it’s the fact that I’m speaking so calmly, so serenely.”

Discord shrugged. “Well, what did you expect really? I’m the spirit of  _chaos!_ If I did everything in a predictable manner, I’d be right out of a job!”

He snapped his fingers and fell back into a conjured reclinable chair. “Ahhh, comfy! Anyways, where was I? Ah yes, I was telling you about the old times!”

He sighed nostalgically. “Believe me, those were the days. I can remember it clearly: The time before my imprisonment, stretching back even  _before_  the unification of the three tribes! Can you believe it? The time before  _Equestria itself!”_

He summoned a cup of tea and began swirling it idly, staring into the murky liquid. “Back in those days, chaos was everywhere. But it wasn’t ME who caused it, oh no! This was the chaos of  _nature!_  Magic was WILD with life and possibilities around every corner! One day might be sunny, but the next could be a hurricane or a snowstorm, or what have you! Some places would be barren, others overridden with plants, and no one could control it! If you think the Everfree forest is impressive now, you should have seen it during it’s glory days!” He took a sip from the cup, taking out a good chunk of the porcelain, before tossing it over his shoulder.

“And the  _creatures!”_  He cried dramatically. “Oh, the creatures! Far more then there are now, and far more powerful to boot! They were magnificent! You could watch the chimaeras hunt in the fields, explore the ever extensive mines of the dwarves, why you could even take a stroll through the forest on the shoulders of an ent! I remember every month I’d go beneath the sea to sing  with the merponies, racing through the water on sea serpents and laughing as we played tag with the water nymphs.” Discord  smiled as he stared off into space, lost on memory lane. Then his smile turned into a melancholy frown. He stood up, dismissing the chair.

“Things have changed since then. They’re all gone. Sleeping, hidden away from prying eyes. I’m one of the few remaining things left from that glorious time. They didn’t do anything wrong, it’s not their fault...” His eyes narrowed menacingly. “No. If it’s anybodys fault...” He twisted his neck around and glared at the distant figure of Canterlot. “It’s  _theirs_. Oh, sure, they didn’t want to hurt anybody, they did it all to _protect_  their ‘precious little ponies’, but at what cost!?”

He swept his arms out, gesturing at the world below. “Look around! The wild beauty that was once nature! The essence of liberty that was once magic! Shackled! Chained and imprisoned! No longer do the winds blow on their own, singing as they dance across the land! No more do plants grow where they will, spreading their beauty to the rest of the world!” Discord sneered in disgust. “Now that brand of life is reviled. Look at the Everfree! One of the last bastions of wild magic in the world, nature incarnate, hated and feared! Branded as dangerous, ‘unnatural’ of all things!”

By this point, Discord was shaking with rage. Suddenly, he took a deep breath and calmed down. “Well, you know what? I say no more. I’m the spirit of chaos! It’s my job to shake things up every once in awhile, to maintain a sense of balance! Harmony’s had it’s fun, now it’s time we get back to the good old days!” A familiar wry grin played over his lips. “And I know just how to do it.”

He snapped his fingers again. Suddenly, he wasn’t in the sky anymore. Now he was in a cave. Dark, pitch-black, and vast. He was hovering in front of a pair of stone doors. They were huge,  _gargantuan!_  Stretching up and off into the darkness, they were covered in runes and symbols, ancient letters and words of immense power.Securely fastened across the doors were equally massive chains, holding the gates shut.

At the foot of the doors slumbered a giant dog. It had three heads, each snoring away, oblivious to the intruder that was so close to the gates they were assigned to protect.

Discord smirked up at the gates tauntingly. “The Gates of Tartarus. You read the summary, you know what’s inside. A being, a  _human_ , possessing immense power. Capable of resetting the status quo, returning the world to it’s natural state. He was imprisoned by the princesses for intending to do just such a thing, locked away from the rest of the world so that their subjects might continue to enjoy the existence they do today.”

Discord was silent as he stared up at his goal. “...you’re probably wondering by now, ‘Discord, if you’re so all powerful, why on Equus don’t you just snap your fingers and let the magic loose yourself? Why go to all this trouble?’” He bowed his head, hiding his face in shadows. “Well, you’re right on that point. I  _could_  do it.” He raised his hand, claws poised to change the world. “All it would take is a single snap, and  _bang!_  Everything goes back to how it once was. Everyone wakes up. The world is never the same. Just. One. Snap.”

Discord was silent a moment more before whipping his head up, a mad smile affixed upon his visage, hands splayed wide. “But where’s the fun in that!? That would be too  _easy!_  Why, I’d even go so far as to define it as cheating! Suuuure, I love to absolutely overwhelm the opposition at times, but hey, again,  _CHAOS!”_ He snapped his jaw shut and clamped his hands over his snout. He glanced down.

Cerberus was still sleeping soundly.

Discord heaved a sigh of relief and wiped his brow. “Whew! That was a close one! Anyways... I want a spectacle! A show like no other! And this guy?” He jerked his thumb towards the doors. “If he can’t deliver, I’ll eat my tail! But, well...” He tutted and shook his head. “I’m not just going to snap my fingers and let him out! No, that would be boring! All I’m going to do is set the stage...”

He snapped his fingers again and teleported back into the sky. “Now, before I do that, let me answer a question you’re all wondering: ‘Discord,  _when_  exactly is this all taking place!?’” The draconequus chuckled softly. “Well, dear readers, I’ll tell you. See, if you squint a bit and tilt your head  _just_  so...” He pointed towards the ground, where five minuscule figures could barely be seen leaving Canterlot. “You can make out little Twilight and her friends returning to Ponyville, intent on reclaiming the Elements of Harmony and re-imprisoning  _moi!_

“So basically, right now we’re at the start of, what, Season Two, was it? I wouldn’t know. I don’t watch it that often, spoilers you know. Anyways, I’m about to start filling the world to the gills with my personal brand of chaos, but the mayhem I’m causing? Well, it won’t _just_  be visible! Sure, what I’m doing that can be seen will be bad, but what is  _not_ seen?” Discord chuckled malevolently. “That’s what will _really_  shake things up.”

Discord raised his claws, fingers prepped to snap. “As the great northern poet Robear Frost once said, ‘Some say the world will end in fire, Some say in ice.’” Discord paused and grimaced. “Wait, Ro- what?! Hang on a second!” He whipped a script out and began flipping through it. “Let’s see, let’s see, blah blah blah, ‘great northern po-’ I, just, what!? A  _polar bear_  pun!? And it’s not even  _good!”_  He shook his head in disgust as he tossed the script away. “Ugh, who the hell  _writes_  that kind of drivel!?”

Discord dusted his hands off before smirking again. “Anyways, what I was trying to say is that some people think that the world will end with a whimper, others with a bang or fire or ice, but do you know what the  _beginning_  of the end of the world begins with?”

He grinned maniacally, holding his claws up.

“It begins with this.”

SNAP!

The world around him shifted. Roads turned to soap, the sun and moon went haywire, Ponyville itself fell into madness.

But unseen, the consequences were far more dangerous. The latent magic of the world, long since frozen and immobile,  _cracked._  Places went wild, nature kicking itself into high gear, arcane forces warping the very fabric of reality in a manner invisible to the naked eye.

However, as dramatic as these changes were, they did little to compare to the most discreet changes of all. Nobody anywhere could possibly have watched as the pieces were set in motion that would end the world as they knew it.

**-o-**

Behind the gates of Tartarus, the sole cell was a huge cavern, as deep and as wide as the Canterlot ballroom. Strung across this huge area of empty space was an extensive array of chains, crisscrossing and connecting in seemingly random ways.

In the dead center of the room, a humanoid figure was bound by the chains. They encircled every part of his body, suspending him high in the air with his arms splayed wide. There was no slack, no give, no means of struggling. The figure was well and truly trapped.

He was clad in dull grey monk robes, the cloth hiding every inch of his body. Upon the robes were written line after line of rune, each alien and complex. Beneath his hood, his face was obscured by shadows. All that could be seen were a pair of large, circular glasses that hid his eyes.

For the longest time, he just hung there. He didn’t move. Not even a twitch. Had a person been looking at him, they’d have said without any doubt in their minds that he was a corpse.

They would have been shocked beyond all belief to see his eyes crack open.

His eyes could only be seen because of how they shined. An unearthly light, flowing out of his eyes and lighting up his glasses, turning them into discs of light that further obscured his face.

The figure was silent for a moment, gazing neutrally into the abyss of chains.

Finally, unseen to the world, a small smile tugged at his lips.

“Discord.” He whispered. “You want a show, huh? Alright. Let’s put on a show.”

The man drew in a deep breath, and then exhaled just as deeply. Another moment of silence, before finally, for the first time since it’s creation, light touched the inside of Tartarus.

The runes on the man’s cloak lit up, an array of hundreds of varying colors. They began to move, drifting and twirling around the man. Some even lifted off of him, floating ethereally around his body. Some touched the chains and were immediately dispelled, but the rest continued to flow around him. On him.

He opened his eyes. Once anew, his glasses lit up, but unlike before they displayed runes, flashing through them at lightning speeds, one after another after another. Any other seeing would have been driven mad trying to follow their erratic patterns. He looked them over boredly as though reading the Sunday paper.

The man hummed idly to himself. “This was a good prison, Celestia.” He mused. “A work of art. It’s a shame I have to demonstrate the flaws present in it.” The man’s eyes narrowed, brimming with intensity. “But I have a duty to do. And  _nothing_ , not these chains, not those doors, and certainly not you, will ever,  _ever!_  Be capable of stopping me from fulfilling it.”

The runes floating around him halted, standing at attention, before zipping in front of him. They arranged themselves in a circular pattern, forming intricate lines and designs within the shape.

A Runic Array. An ancient method of magic, long lost for centuries, last practiced by Star Swirl The Bearded. At least, as far as Equestria’s best and brightest knew.

How were they to know that this man was the most powerful Rune Keeper in existence?

The man’s smile evolved into a smirk. “The first flaw in your attempt to imprison a person till the end of time, Lady White-wash? Not checking to make sure that they had a back-up plan.”

The Array pulsed, sending out an intangible wave of energy. It would travel far and wide, searching and searching, until finally, it reached its targets.

**-o-**

Deep in a forest, untouched by the chaos Discord was wreaking, a pony, a unicorn, slept just off the path. She was exhausted from the long day she had spent walking. So deep was the unicorn’s slumber that not even a roaring Ursa Major could have woken her.

So it was to her great surprise that she  _was_  suddenly awoken, fully revitalized. She whipped her head around swiftly, trying to find out who had ended her slumber. “Who-wha-!” Suddenly, she snapped her jaws shut in shock. She had caught sight of her hat, lying a foot away from her. But that wasn’t what shocked her.

What shocked her was that a light was emanating from within the hat.

“Sweet mother of Hecate.” She whispered. “Is it possible?!” In a flash, her horn lit up, engulfing her hat in a magical aura. She began violently jerking the hat around, intent on dislodging whatever was causing the light from it. Finally, the source of the light dropped out. Before the object could touch the ground, she had it gripped in her magic. Her jaw dropped wide as she looked it over.

It was a medallion, about three inches across. Made from a gleaming silver metal, the light was emanating from the intricate Runic Array inscribed upon its surface.

The unicorn could do little else then stare at the glowing piece of metal. “The Awestruck and Amazed Trixie cannot believe her eyes...” She breathed. Slowly, her mouth curved up into a euphoric smile. “It’s time, it’s finally finally time!”

**-o-**

It was a foggy evening in Loondon. There were few people up and about in the cobbled streets. Most had chosen to retire early and sleep away the hours until the sun shone again.

One griffin, however, was awake. She was perched on the sill of her apartment’s window, glaring vindictively at the few passerby still out and about, illuminated by the streetlights.

More specifically she was glaring at any ponies that happened to pass by, bedecked in their fancy clothes and finery. A fair sight better than most of the griffins that walked or flew by, wearing simple, utilitarian vestments.

Her beak twisted into a sneer. She hopped off the window back into her apartment, muttering to herself as she walked. “Damn ponies, damn Equestria. They have no  _right_ to be here, no  _right_ to have so much. Venti take them, one of these days, I swear I-!” She cut herself off as she passed by a dresser.

Slowly, haltingly, she turned her head to affirm what she had seen.

Just as she thought. The dresser had something shining in it.

Faster than a heartbeat, the griffin pounced on the dresser, tearing into it with her talons like it was a raw carcass. Finally, after much crashing, ripping and smashing, she shakily withdrew her prize.

A golden amulet, runes glowing and illuminating her living space.

She stared at it in silence, dumbfounded, before finally...

“Ha. Hahaha...hahaHAHAHAHA!” She tilted her head back as she roared in laughter. “JUST YOU WAIT, YOU DWEEBS!” She cried joyously. “GILDA BEHERTZ IS GOING TO SHOW YOU JUST WHAT THE GRIFFINS ARE MADE OF!”

**-o-**

It was a cold, gloomy night in Stalliongrad. Hidden by the shadows of the buildings around him, a single huge minotaur clopped through the streets, walking silently towards his destination.

Passing by an alleyway, he glanced inside. Through the darkness, he could make out three others of his kind, clad in rags and haggard with hunger. They were huddled together against the cold.

The minotaur sighed and shook his head sadly as he continued to walk.

Suddenly, somebody bumped into him from behind. The somebody turned out to be a shorter, scrawnier minotaur. He mumbled an apology and sidestepped the person he’d bumped into, trying to accelerate ahead.

However, before he could start to run, he was stopped by a heavy hand darting out and clamping on to his bony shoulder. “Hang on there, friend.”

The smaller minotaur swallowed heavily as he turned around and looked up at the larger being. “P-please, T-tin Hoof is sorry!” He shakily held out his other hand, proffering the bits he’d stolen. “Y-you can have them back, just please, don’t hurt Tin Hoof!”

The larger minotaur shook his head. “That’s not why Iron Will stopped you.” The big blue minotaur dug around in his pockets with his other hand. Finally, he withdrew it and holding out a hefty coin purse to the amazed Tin Hoof. “Iron Will stopped you because you forgot the rest.”

Tin Hoof slowly reached out and held the coin pouch reverently in his hands. He snapped his eyes back up to Iron Will’s full of awe. “Th-thank you Iron Will! Tin Hoof will never forget this kindness.”

Iron WIll grinned widely and flashed him a thumbs up. “Good for you! And always remember: If you can aid others in need, never give in to greed!”

Tin Hoof nodded energetically. “Tin Hoof won’t, Iron Will, Tin Hoof won’t!” The smaller minotaur dashed past Iron Will, ducking into the alley. Moments later, the sounds of cheering erupted from within.

Iron Will smiled at the sound for a few seconds before his mood grew dour. “May Gaia look after you, Tin Hoof.” He mumbled as he turned around and kept walking. “May Gaia look after us all.”

He walked for a few more feet before he became aware of a fact that made him halt in his tracks.

Looking down, he stared wonderously at the glow emanating from his pocket.

Slowly, Iron Will reached in and drew out a glowing object.

He gaped slightly at the glowing bronze disc he held in the palm of his hand.

Slowly, he wrapped his fingers around the metal. “Or maybe...” He whispered reverently, “It’s time the minotaur’s looked after  _themselves."_

**-o-**

Beyond the borders of Equestria, deep beneath the ancient Badlands, there lay a multitude of tunnels. For centuries, they had been long abandoned. Not a soul walked through their dark, chitinous walls. Not a hint of light gleamed off the carapace-like surfaces.

Until today.

Today, slowly, surely, the old lights were re-lit. Ancient sacks and veins of viscous liquid began to glow a sickly green color, illuminating the ancient hive for the first time in many a lifetime.

Suddenly, one of the sacks began to move. It shook and shuddered, whatever was inside it trying to escape.

Finally, with a loud SQUELCH! The sack split open, spilling its contents onto the floor. Amidst the noxious liquid, a pony-like form encased in a rough exoskeleton slowly clambered to its feet.

The changeling chirped and chittered, looking around with it’s big blank eyes. All of a sudden, it’s attention was drawn above itself, where with a SCHLICK! Another burst, letting loose the changeling within. It took a step back, very nearly missing being flattened by it’s falling brethren. The two stared at each other emotionlessly for a second before  _more_  noises called for their attention.

SQUIRP! SCHLOCK! SQUIRCH!

Again and again, with rising speed and intensity, the noise could be heard as the changeling hive saw life for the first time in what might as well have been an eternity, awakening creatures that had not been seen in Equus for so long that they had been forgotten.

Amidst all of these rebirths, however, none were quite so dramatic as what occurred at the very heart of the hive.

Surrounded by glowing walls of carapace and membrane, there stood a swirled pillar of chitin. a cocoon, glowing with ancient, ethereal power. The cocoon stood, casting an aura of imperious might and superiority, when suddenly-

CRACK!

-a fissure ran up it’s side. There was a moment of silence-

CR-CRACK!

-before another crack joined it.

KEER-ACK!

And another.

CRA-A-ACK!

And another. Slowly, surely, the cracks cobwebbed across the pillar. Green light shone out of the openings, casting shadows across the chamber. Finally, after years of ceaseless vigil-

BANG!

-the cocoon exploded outwards in a blast of green energy, casting bits and pieces of chitin around the entire around the chamber. Where the cocoon had once stood, there remained a single being. An alicorn-esque figure shakily ascended to her hooves. Tall, powerful, clad in gleaming black armor. Long strips of membrane hung from the back of her neck, acting as a mane. With powerful, lanky legs, strong insectoid wings, and imperious gleaming fangs, the figure exuded an aura of pure power.

For the first time since the hive had fallen asleep, Queen Chrysalis, ruler and mother of the changelings, was conscious once more.

Chrysalis panted heavily, trying to regain her balance. “I...I’m awake.” She whispered. “B-but how? I...I felt myself fall asleep... felt... the hive...” She gasped and snapped her neck up. “The hive!”

Acting swiftly, she cast her mind out, feeling the psyches of the other beings, her children and subjects that were within her domain. _‘Chitter?’_ She mentally cried out.  _‘Creeper? Swift Fang? Please, someone answer me!”_

But for once, the queen’s demands went unheeded. All she found was an eerie silence.

Fluttering her wings in agitation, Chrysalis reeled from the implications. “T-they’re still asleep. Their bodies are awake, but their minds are still asleep. L-like revenants.” She shook her head  head desperately and began pacing back and force on the chitinous dais. “T-this doesn’t make any sense! Why!? Why did the hive wake up, now of all times! Why did  _I_ wake up! T-the only  _possible_ reason why would be...would...be...”

Chrysalis slowly trailed off as she took notice of something that she had overlooked in her agitation.

She was being illuminated not only by the natural green lights of the hive, but by a white light, shining down on her from above.

“I don’t believe it...” She whispered as she slowly raised her head. “It’s not possible...”

But it was. There, impressed into the wall, was a huge circle of metal. Five feet across and carved from the darkest of obsidian, the Runic Array it bore shined brightly in the gloom of the chamber.

For the longest time, all Chrysalis could do was stare at the disc above her, eyes and jaws wide in shock. Finally, she collapsed, her head bowed as her body was racked with sobs.

“T-thank you!” She whispered shakily, tears of joy running down her face. “A-apate, Hermes, N-nyx,  _thank you!”_  

The only sound to be heard in the hive was that of the pure elation of the queen, as she cried joyously for the revival of her kind.

**-o-**

_‘Well, there you have it.’_ Discord thought.  _‘The stage is set, the balls are rolling, the pawns are in place, blah blah blah. Now all we have to do is set it to simmer, let the whole thing cook for awhile and BAM!_ Un fin du monde,  _fresh out of the oven! That’s Prench for “One end of the world”, by the by.’_

 _‘Of course it’ll-GAH! ACK! Damn it all, get off of me you stupid pigeon! Off I say, off! Nonono, don’t you even think about and it’s all over my horn, perfect. Well this is shaping up to be a fun time. Eurgh, three guesses where I am, the first two don’t count.’_ Discord would have rolled his eyes, but was impeded by the fact that his eyeballs, like every inch of his body, were made of  marble.

 _“Yeah, they got me again. Flashed me stiff and left me to...mildew, I’m going to say they left me to mildew. Feh, what does it matter, anyways? I’ve already set things up so that there’s no way that I’ll be bored! Suuuure, it’ll take awhile, months in fact, before he’s free, but it_ will  _happen, mark my words! Hmm? What’s with that look on your faces?...Ooooooh, you thought-hahaha! Ah, don’t worry, I meant months on_ my  _end, not yours! For you, it’ll be, eeeeh, two or three chapters? Give or take. Depends on whether or not the author can get off his lazy ass and actually do something constructive instead of surfing the web all day.”_

**A.N. Fuck you too, Discord.**

_‘Wow, we are just taking a hammer to the fourth wall, huh? Welp! Anyways! That’s it for this chapter, and my part in the story! Don’t worry, you’ll see me again in a few chapters, he couldn’t keep me out if he tried, but for now...’_ Had Discord retained any of his flesh, he would have been bearing a shit-eating grin. One acquired from personal experience courtesy of the pigeons.

_‘You’re a riot.’_

**A.N. I try.**

_‘ANYWAYS! As I was saying...now is when things get serious.’_

**To be continued...**

_‘Really? That is_ such _a cliché!’_

At that moment, a pigeon happened to fly above Discord’s mouth and relieve itself directly into his gaping jaws.

_‘...you win this round, Xomniac. You win this round.’_


	2. Setting the Stage

Cerberus’s heads snored loudly as he slept at his post in front of Tartarus. While most might consider this to be horrifying, considering the critical importance of the duty he had been assigned, it was hard to fault the hound. When Tartarus was initially created, there were many interlopers who came to there, trying desperately to breach the mighty prison and unleash what lay inside.

They had all failed. They all fell to Cerberus’ fangs, one after another.

However, over the course of the many, many,  _many_ years Cerberus had stood watch, the number of those who came to Tartarus dwindled. Fewer and fewer attempted to challenge Cerberus until finally, the watchdog saw only an adventurer or a treasure-hunter pop their delectable head in every decade or so.

If he was lucky.

The cause for this was that, over time, Tartarus’s location had all but faded from public memory. It had dwindled away until the only ones who knew the prison’s location were the good Princesses and those closest to them.

Still, even  _if_  some outsider discovered where Tartarus was located, there was still the nigh impossible task of reaching it. Separating Tartarus from the rest of the world was an arcane labyrinth. Extensive and near impossible in design, the massive feat of magic and architecture was both deadly  _and_ perplexing. Traps lay around every corner _,_  and the passages within shifted and altered with no rhyme or reason. To navigate it would be a grueling endeavor. To survive it _would be a test of all._

Both at once? Nigh impossible.

The only way to successfully pass through the maze without getting irrevocably lost or dying a most gruesome and painful death was another secret held exclusively by the Princesses and Cerberus himself. Anything else could only be defined as sheer luck.

With next to no unwanted visitors and nothing else to do, Cerberus was pretty much left to laze about and relax undist-

Cerberus’s leftmost nose twitched. Then it did again, and again, his other two noses joining in. The hound’s eyes snapped open, glaring into the darkness as all three heads simultaneously bared their fangs and snarled.

He smelled something. A scent. A very familiar, greatly  _unwelcome_  scent.

Magic. There was magic being used somewhere nearby. Someone was here, intruding upon his domain, and they would pay most dearly.

He got to his paws and began padding forwards, trying to sniff out the location of the owner of the magic. The results made his heads whine and glance at each other in confusion.

The trace on the magic was...muddled. He knew that the foreign magic’s caster was nearby, but he couldn’t pinpoint said caster’s exact location.

FWOOSH!

The heads snapped up at the noise and stared in confusion.

Floating before them...was a rolled up newspaper. No tricks, no gimmicks, not even the telltale aura of a unicorn. It was just...a newspaper. That was floating.

The heads glanced at each other again. What on Equus was this? Cerberus had seen a lot of strange attempts over the years, but this took the-

THWACK!

“YIP!”

Cerberus reeled back in shock, heads blinking as they tried to process what had happened. Because there was no way under Celestia’s blistering sun that that newspaper had just-

THWACK! THWACK!

Yes, yes it  _had_  just hit one of his heads. And it had just done it two more times.

Cerberus growled but didn’t move. This was a trick. He had seen countless tricks over the years. Numerous adventurers had tried varying forms of subterfuge to distract and bypass him. All had failed. Whoever was trying to bait him could try and try, but he hadn’t given in before, and he certainly wasn’t going to now.

THWACK!

Then again, first time for everything. Hook, line, and sinker it was.

“WOOF!”

His middle head snapped forwards, trying to grab the newspaper in his jaws. The tube of paper swept to the side, avoiding the gnashing teeth and landing another blow on his snout. The left head lunged and received same treatment for it’s troubles.

And so it went, a war-dance of fangs and paper. For the longest time, neither made any progress against the other. But it couldn’t last. Something had to give. And finally, something did.

A single slip up. A moment where the newspaper was just a second too slow. Where the middle head was just a second faster.

CHOMP!

And that’s all she wrote.

The middle mouth growled as it gripped the struggling newspaper in it’s jaws. The left and right snapped at the ends poking out and helped reduce the paper to shreds.

Cerberus panted as he glared at the remains. Whoever had done this...they were going to pay. He leaned into the papers and sniffed, trying to capture whatever scents he could find.

The hound’s lips drew back into a trio of canine smirks. There was  _definitely_  a scent, and unlike the magic, he could actually trace it. Cerberus stuck his noses into the air and began inhaling vigorously. The smirks were dropped, replaced by scowls and growling. The scent...it led  _out_  of Tartarus. Out past the labyrinth and into the world at large.

Cerberus snorted and turned around, walking back to where it had been sleeping. Did the caster  _seriously_  expect that to work? Cerberus might have lost his temper, but by no means was he going to simply abandon his post and rush off just because he got hit on the snout by some two-bit tabloid!

FWOOSH! THWACK! “WOOF!” CHOMP!

On the other hand, it couldn’t hurt to leave for just a  _little_  bit of time, could it? Just long enough to find the caster and teach the person a lesson. Cerberus snarled as its middle head chewed on the paper.

No, no harm at all.

Letting out a trio of howls, Cerberus shot out of his domain for the first time in ages.

**-o-**

For several minutes, the chamber was frozen in time. Nothing moved, nothing made a sound.

However, the silence didn’t last for long.

“All right, it’s gone. Drop the illusion.”

“The Great and Powerful Trixie did  _not_  hear you ask please.”

“Drop it or I’ll rip your trachea out.”

“Close enough.”

The air around the voices shimmered, like water in a pool, before finally clearing up into the forms of three figures.

One of the figures snorted in disdain. She was a griffin, proud and strong, with powerful wings and razor sharp talons. She was clad in varying pieces of bright gold armor. A breastplate, clawed gauntlets, a pointed protector on her tail, knee armor, and sharpened covers guarding the leading edges of her wings. Perched on top of her head were a pair of aviator goggles with golden lenses. On her left shoulder, she wore a pauldron, in which lay a circle of gold that had glowing writing on it. “Are you seriously such a pompous dweeb that you need to tack that stupid title on every time you say your name?”

The second figure, a unicorn, huffed indignantly. Her coat was a light sky-blue, and her mane was even lighter, nearly white. She was wearing a purple witches hat and cloak, both covered in blue and yellow stars. She was also wearing armor, though hers was silver. It covered her flank and barrel and guarded her forelegs. Adorned on the armor over her flank was the image of a wavy crescent moon crossed by a star-topped wand. She had a pauldron on her left shoulder that resembled the griffin’s, a silver medallion shining out of it. “Trixie believes that she deserves her title after all the hard work she did.” She leveled a glare at the griffin. “And she would appreciate a little bit more respect.

The avian-mammal hybrid scoffed and rolled her eyes. “‘Hard work’? All you did was hit that overgrown mutt with a newspaper! Anybody could have done that,  _I_  could have done that!”

Trixie’s eyes snapped wide in shock before narrowing menacingly. Her body was covered by a shimmering silver aura, her own eyes becoming small white suns. “Does the Great and Powerful Trixie detect a challenge from you,  _Gilda?”_  She hissed, her voice beginning to gain a slight echo.

Gilda glared right back, rearing up on her hind legs and flexing her talons in their gauntlets. She took a menacing step forwards, runes lighting up on her gloves as lightning began to dance across her armor. “Maybe Gilda  _is_  challenging you, oh Great and Powerful _Dweeb!_  What are you gonna do about it?”

“Pompous chicken!”

“Magic mule!”

“Cockatrice sp-!”

“ENOUGH!”

A pair of large hands caught the two by the backs of their armor and yanked them off their feet, forcing them to dismiss their magic. They both whipped their heads around and glared at the third member of their group.

He was a minotaur, large and blue. He too wore armor, his bronze, but unlike the other two his was heavy. It covered his arms, torso, and legs completely, turning him into a juggernaut of brass and muscle. He also had the same pauldron as his companions, the same amulet impressed within.

Trixie and Gilda both pointed at each other. “She started it!”

“And Iron Will will end it.” The minotaur stated calmly. “Now unless you want your skulls bashed together, Iron Will suggests that you make nice.”

Gilda and Trixie eyed each other before simultaneously turning their heads away defiantly.

Iron Will made good on his promise.

SLAM! “OW!”

“Are you two done acting like little cubs and fillies yet?”

The  two growled angrily at him before finally giving each other the evil eye.

“The Sad and... _Regretful_ Trixie is... _sorry_ for demanding recognition.” Trixie grit out.

“Yeah yeah, and I’m sorry for calling you useless.” Gilda bit out. She looked up at Iron Will. “Now will you let me go already? I have a job to do, damn it!”

Iron will opened his hands and let them fall back to the ground.

Trixie glared up at Gilda. “You had better not screw this up, Gilda.” She said menacingly.

The griffin scoffed dismissively. “Whatever.” She lowered the goggles over her eyes and spread her wings. “Later, dweebs.” With those parting words, she beat her wings and took to the air, soaring up towards the doors.

Coming up to the structures, she paused before a particular section of runes. Beating her wing faster to keep her hovering, she examined the wall attentively, searching for something. Finally, she slowly reached forwards with one of her talons to poke a seemingly random crack in the wall-

ZAP!

-only to hiss in pain and withdraw the claw when a magical spark leapt out to greet her.

“Everything alright, Gilda?” Iron Will called up.

“I’m fine! Get off my back would ya!?” She hollered back. Gilda took a deep breath and tried to slow her heart rate. “Keep it together, Behertz...” She whispered. She slowly opened her eyes and searched the wall again. She reached towards another crack...

...and smirked in satisfaction as her claw safely touched the wall and found purchase. Acting quickly, she gripped the area with her claw and stopped flapping her wings, letting her body swing into the doors. Her paws landed on two other parts of the wall, leaving her hanging by three of her limbs.

She quickly scanned the runes arrayed before her. Finally, she found the correct area she was looking for: A small, nigh minuscule array of runes carved into the door, separate from the larger ones that were originally part of the gates. Different parts of the array ranged in age and design, some ancient and sleek, others centuries more recent and of a rougher style, but all were younger than the door’s original runes.

“All right, now we’re in business” Gilda muttered. She began snapping her free talons together. The first two times, the gauntlets gave off a flurry of sparks. The third, however, produced more dramatic results. Runes lit up her gauntlet again as lightning encased the fingers, dancing around and between them.

Slowly, carefully, Gilda raised her hands to the runes before finally touching the tip of her talon to the stone. The effect was instantaneous: Sparks and chips of stone began flying around Gilda as she quickly and calmly moved her fingers, adding her own runes to the set already present.

Down below, Trixie and Iron Will silently watched as Gilda performed her duty. Trixie had her head bowed and was chewing hesitantly on her lip before finally raising her head to look at the minotaur. “The...the Sincere and Honest Trixie truly  _is_  sorry about what she said earlier.” She said softly.

Iron Will raised an eyebrow at her. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Trixie was silent for a moment before lowering her head and pulling down her hat to cover her eyes. “It’s just...what Gilda said truly hurt. Manipulating Cerberus, convincing it to leave... You have no  _idea_  how lucky Trixie feels. Trixie realizes that the Guides and Scribes have had their fair share of woes over the years, learning how to bypass their own dangers. But in the end, the labyrinth and the gates are merely objects. They are not alive. Cerberus...”

Trixie shuddered. “Cerberus is a  _monster_. One that has signified the doom of every Guard for  _generations._ ” She swallowed heavily. “The Guides often leave Tatarus, and more often than not a Scribe manages to escape with their progress as well, but the Guards?” She let out a dry chuckle. “Our job is to  _fight_ that creature and protect the others. We have to fight a three headed Discord-dog that is several times our size, that can not only smell magic, but  _nullify_  it! It wasn’t until Trixie’s grandparents that we discovered how to circumvent Cerberus’s aura, but even then the results were not definitive! If something had gone wrong, then the illusion...”

Trixie shuddered. “Being a Guard is dangerous in and of itself. But a Guard that is a  _unicorn?_ By all means, Trixie shouldn’t have won. Trixie shouldn’t have been the victor, but she was!And to have that, that  _chicken!_  Belittle the culmination of generations of work and sacrifice? To spit upon the fact that our curse has finally been lifted?” Trixie shook her head. “Unforgivable...”

Iron will was silent as he listened to her. “...you didn’t expect to survive, did you?”

Trixie shook her head. “No... Trixie fully expected to give her life to protect you two, like many Guards have over the centuries. It is why Trixie has always tried being so popular and well known, so that she would be remembered. So that Trixie would live on in their memories...”

Iron Will grunted in understanding. For several minutes, he was silent before finally, “The truth is that Iron Will didn’t think he’d make it through the maze either.”

Trixie snapped her head up. “What? Really?!”

Iron Will nodded solemnly. “Yup. Iron Will was afraid he would miss a sign, or overlook a trap the entire time. Iron Will was worried he might forget part of his training, and then, well,” He drew a finger across his throat.

Trixie stared up at him in awe. “But-” She stuttered. “But you were so calm! So steady and brave! Absolutely nothing fazed you!”

Iron Will nodded. “That’s because Iron Will remembered.”

“Remembered what?”

The minotaur gave her a thumbs up and smiled encouragingly. “If fear is looking you in the eye, just steel your back and walk on by!”

Trixie stared at him for a moment before chuckling. “You still haven’t forgotten that seminar in Ponyville, have you?”

Iron Will shuddered and slapped his forehead. “Please don’t remind Iron Will. Iron Will wishes to never have to do that again! Bodies were not meant to flex the way Iron WIll flexed, and it took ages to train the goats!”

Trixie shrugged. “Still, in the end you managed to get the scent Trixie needed. Plus...” She giggled at the memory. “Trixie thought that in her professional opinion, you put on quite the performance!”

“Urgh...” His skin turned purple with his blush. “A-anyways... the point is that we’re all scared. This is something that we’ve all prepared for our entire lives.” He nodded up at the working griffin. “Even Gilda.”

Trixie gazed curiously at her companion as she part climbed and part flew to another section of the gates, etching in her various runes and signets. “But why? After all, Cerberus is gone-”

“But that doesn’t mean the gates can’t defend themselves!”

Trixie jerked back in surprise as Gilda peeled off of the stone expanse and glided down to the two. “Ah, Gilda! Trixie was just-”

“Stow it, dweeb.” Gilda said casually as she landed and pulled the goggles off. “I’m just taking a break. Need to wait for the runes to take effect, clear up a whole new patch of wall.” She held her talons out to Iron Will. “Got anything to drink?”

The minotaur dropped a flask in her claws. “Thanks.” Gilda popped the top off and greedily guzzled the water. “Ah, that’s the stuff. Anyways, as I was saying, the gates do a damn good job of defending themselves. Times were that Scribes couldn’t get within ten feet of them, much less touch them!”

“Why not?” Trixie asked, mildly dreading the answer.

Gilda’s expression didn’t change, remaining neutral. She merely scratched her talon on the floor, leaving a trail in the dust that coated the chamber. Trixie stared at her claws for a second before her eyes widened in horror.

She swallowed heavily, doing everything she could not to think about what she was standing in. Or rather,  _who._  “T-then, what changed?” Trixie asked, trying to change the subject.

Gilda shrugged. “As I said: time. These gates haven’t had any maintenance done on them in millenia, so more than a few of the arrays have faded and are now either dead, dying, or crippled.” Gilda smirked proudly. “Several generations of rune-crackers who  _literally_ trained their entire lives for this didn’t help things either.”

Trixie nodded, obviously impressed. “Incredible...”

“Yeah yeah. Anyways, about how long would you say we have?”

“Hmm...” Trixie tapped her hoof as she ran the numbers. “About one hour for Cerberus to leave the maze, three to reach Ponyville, an hour where it rampages searching for the cowardly pony whose scent Iron Will acquired, another hour after the Guard arrives to subdue the beast, about four hours to get back, soooo... approximately ten hours, give or take. Will that be long enough to unlock the gates?”

Gilda nodded. “Yeah, just enough. But...”

Iron Will raised an eyebrow. “But?”

Gilda looked him in the eye. “I’m  _not_ unlocking the gates.”

Iron Will and Trixies jaws dropped open in shock before their faces twisted into looks of abject fury.

Gilda quickly whipped her claws up and waved them. “B-but that doesn’t mean I’m not getting him out, I am! I...I just can’t do it by directly unlocking the gates.”

“Explain.” Trixie hissed.

Gilda swallowed heavily. “Look, as much as I want to unlock the gates, I can’t. Like I said, a lot of arrays have failed over the years, but some are still functional. The nastier self-defense wards are down, true, but the arcane defenses, the stuff that guards the lock itself? It’s impregnable. The Scribes could go with twenty generations of progress and we  _still_ wouldn’t be anywhere close to cracking it!”

“Then what are you trying to do?” Iron Will needled.

“Alright, alright. See, normally Tartarus keeps it’s prisoners’ magic sealed up tight, locked away within himself where he can’t reach it. He can’t use his magic, can’t move, no escape attempt _._ ”

Trixie frowned and brought her hoof up to her pauldron. “But... our amulets. He gave the signal, you know he did!”

Gilda nodded. “Yeah, because the ward keeping his magic sealed up and inside him and his cell? It recently went kaput, dead as a doornail. He has his magic back, and that’s good, but there’s still a problem. There’s another ward protecting the prison  _itself_ from his magic. He can’t even begin to touch it. It probably took a lot of concentration and energy just to send the signal out, but even  _with_  that much energy, he still can’t undo the prison because he can’t get any traction. But!” She stuck her claw up. “Because he’s not even supposed to be conscious, that’s the  _only_  internal defense! All others are focused outwards!”

“So what you’re trying to say,” Iron Will said slowly. “Is that the only way to break out of Tartarus-”

“-Is from the inside, right.” Gilda said with a smirk.

“And how would that work?” Trixie inquired.

Gilda jabbed her thumb over her shoulder. “Even with all the disuse and lack of fine-tuning, those slabs of stone still have a metric manure-ton of magic flowing through them. What I’m trying to do is get ahold of a strong enough current and redirect it inwards to the cell.”

“Essentially wiring him into Tartarus’s system and letting him wreak as much havoc as he needs to get out, genius!” Trixie exclaimed.

Gilda nodded proudly. “Of course it is. After all, I came up with the plan myself. Well...” She scratched the back of her neck. “Actually, one of my ancestors came up with it, b-but I fine tuned it!”

Suddenly, there was a flash of light from the gates. Gilda looked back up at them. “Runes are done. If you’ll ‘scuse me...” She took off again, returning to her work.

Trixie watched admiringly her as she flew up and went back to carving into the stone. “Incredible...”

“It’s like Iron Will said,” The minotaur interjected. “We’re all putting our lives on the line here. We might be scared, but we just have to move on.”

Trixie nodded and smiled. “Trixie understands. So!” She clopped her hooves together. “We have ten hours to kill! What should we do now?”

Iron Will shrugged before sitting on the floor and laying flat on his back. “Iron Will suggests that Trixie gets some sleep. There’s little else to do.”

Trixie snorted. “Maybe. But the Alert and Attentive Trixie is so wired that she doubts she could get any sleep if she tried!”

**-Four Hours Later-**

 Trixie snored and kicked lightly as she dreamt. Slowly, her face twisted in fear as she began to toss and turn. “No, no, no! Get away!” Until finally...

“WHEELS!” She exclaimed as she snapped up, breathing heavily. Her eyes were wide and wild for a few seconds before she finally let out a laugh and collapsed onto her back. “Oh thank Hecate.”

“Bad dream?”

“The worst.” She responded. “Trixie dreamt that she was on a suicide mission with an overgrown barnyard fowl and had to face down  _Cerberus_  of all things! And as if that wasn’t bad enough, she was in a chamber that was absolutely  _covered_  in the disintegrated remains of previous Scribes and other beings. Ugh! The mere thought makes Trixie shudder.”

“I’m sure it does.”

Trixie was silent as she laid comfortably on her back for several minutes. Finally, her eyes slowly re-opened open, staring at the darkness above her. Slowly, she raised one of her hooves and watched as the dust trickled back down to the floor. She laid the hoof back down and continued to stare.

“Gilda.”

“Yeah, dweeb?”

“That wasn’t a dream, was it.”

“Nope.”

“Ah. Very well then. If you’ll  excuse Trixie...”

Trixie shot ten feet into the air. “YEEEEAAAAAARGH!” she began flailing around, trying to dislodge the dust from her being. “EWEWEWEWEW! GET IT OFF GET IT OFF GET IT OFF!”

Gilda cackled at her misfortune. “Hahahahaha! Hey, I think I can see some of my third cousin on your ass!”

THWACK!

“OUCH! What the hell, Iron Will?!”

“Gilda, don’t make fun of her. Trixie, calm down.”

“WHY THE HELL SHOULD TRIXIE!? TRIXIE IS COVERED IN  _REMAINS!”_

“Because if you don’t calm down, Iron Will will go over there and  _make_  you calm down.”

Trixie immediately froze, a painfully fake smile plastered on her face. “Calm? Trixie is calm, Trixie is the epitome of calm, she is the Calm and Serene Trixie, of course she’s calm. Completely, utterly,  _calm!” s_ he grit out.

Iron Will nodded. “Better. Now, it’s been four hours, we should be getting the signal right about- _gragh!”_  

“Ack!” “Ow!”

The trio winced in pain and gripped their heads. It felt as though something was scratching at the insides of their skulls. Finally, the pain receded to a dull throb. Replacing it was a scratchy, echoey voice that seemed to reverberate behind their eyes.

_“Cerberus has reached Ponyville.”_

“Urgh, good.” Trixie said, wincing as she gingerly rubbed her throbbing cranium. “That means that we have about-”

_“Four hours.”_

Trixie blinked, her pain forgotten. “Wait, what? No, we have six hours, the Guard still needs an hour to get there!”

_“The Guard is not coming.”_

“Wh- _why!?”_

_“Cerberus has already been dealt with and is on his way back.”_

Trixie’s mouth ran dry and her pupils shrank. “....how.” She whispered.

_“The Element of Kindness. She gave him a belly rub and he rolled over like a puppy. The Element of Magic is leading him back to Tartarus as we speak.”_

Trixie began to breath faster. “Four hours. Four hours isn’t enough time, there isn’t enough time, we  _need_ two extra hours! WE NEED THEM!”

_“There’s nothing I can do. Work fast.”_ And with that, the presence receded from their minds.

Trixie’s panic, however, did not. “This...this can’t be happening. All those years. All that time, all that work, we had finally won. And now...now we’re beaten by a pony who is afraid of her own shadow, who just  _rubbed that monster’s belly!?_  IT’S NOT FAIR, DAMN IT! WE WORKED FOR THIS! WE...we worked for this...” She trailed off, her voice filling with tears.

She felt a gauntlet land on her shoulder. She raised her tear-stained face to meet Gilda’s emotionless gaze.

“Don’t worry about it. It doesn’t mean  _anything._  That dweeb? She’s one of the Elements of minotaur-shit. They  _always_  get a free pass, they always get an easy way out. They’re cheaters, you got me? Cheaters.”

Trixie stared up at her for a moment before swallowing heavily and nodding.

Iron Will grunted. “Touching. Iron WIll would join in, but we have bigger problems. Gilda, the door?”

The griffon shook her head. “Not enough time. At the least I’d need five hours, six to double-check everything.”

“Then do you have anything you can do in four?”

Gilda chewed on her talon for a second, eyes darting back and forth in thought before finally nodding determinedly. “Yeah. Yeah, I’ve got something. I’ll need to rush it, and then there’ll be a problem afterwards...”

“But will it get him out?”

“I DON’T KNOW!” she shouted. She breathed heavily for a moment before continuing. “I don’t know. Maybe it will, maybe it won’t. But it’s our best shot. That’s all I can say.”

The three were quiet for a moment before Trixie broke the silence.

“...do it.” She said quietly.

Gilda nodded and spread her wings. “On it.”

“Is there anything we can do to help?” Iron Will asked.

“Yeah.” She lowered her goggles. “Pick a god and pray. Actually, better make it several. We’re gonna need them.” With those parting words, both her gauntlets ignited in lightning as she took off once more for her age-old task. She went to work with both hands, carving and gouging in ways that made sense only to her and her ancestors.

All Trixie and Iron Will could do was watch as Gilda worked against the clock.

“Please,” Trixie whispered reverently, “Please, if there is anyone listening, anyone at all, then have pity on us. Let this work.”

Iron Will snorted. “Look’s like there’s nothing more we can do but wait.”

She didn’t turn her eyes away from the spectacle. “Trixie wishes there was something more we  _could_  do.”

The minotaur shook his head. “Iron Will and Trixie have both done their parts. Even Chrysalis helped us where she could. Now, all our hopes...” he gazed up silently at the determined griffin. “Lie on her.”

- **-Four Hours Later-**  


 Trixie tapped her hoof repeatedly as she glanced between Gilda and the entrance to the maze. Iron Will had re-entered the labyrinth about five minutes ago to keep watch for the Element of Magic and Cerberus. “Hurry, Gilda!” she shouted. “They’ll be here any second!”

“I know, I know!” Gilda bellowed back as she carved furiously. “I’m almost done, just a bit more time!”

Unfortunately, time was not a luxury they possessed. This fact was made apparent when Iron WIll charged back into the chamber. “They’re right behind Iron Will.” He gasped. “Trixie, get the illusion back up, Gilda, get down here!”

“Almost done!” The griffin shouted back.

Trixie’s horn lit up and her armor began to shine as the air around herself and Iron Will began to ripple and shimmer. “Gilda! Now!”

The griffin growled furiously and slashed her claw through the stone one final time. “Done!” She shot off the wall and half-fell half-flew to her companions.

But would she make it? Already, voices could be heard.

“Calm down Cerberus, you’re just imagining things! I mean...”

**-o-**

 “Look!” Twilight Sparkle turned the corner and gestured with her hoof. “There’s nobody here!”

And indeed there wasn’t. The chamber was as empty as it had been when Cerberus had left, with absolutely everything remaining unchanged.

Cerberus snorted and padded back into it’s age-old home. He was thoroughly annoyed at the waste of time, and was looking forwards to getting back to his nap.

Twilight, meanwhile, was gazing up at the gates in awe. “Wow,” she breathed. “This is incredible! Such craftsmanship, such style...I’d love to study them!”

Cerberus stopped in his tracks and whipped his heads around, hackles raised as he snarled furiously.

Twilight flinched back from the threatening motion. “O-or not! Sorry! I-I just remembered, I have somewhere t-to be! B-bye!” She whipped around and took a few steps towards the door before a noise made her stop.

The sound of a dog sniffing.

Twilight slowly turned her head to look at the dog again. “C-cerberus?” she asked quietly.

The massive canine ignored her, keeping his noses to the ground as he walked forwards, seemed to search for something.

Twilight swallowed heavily and tried again. “Cerberus? W-what are you doing? Is something wrong?”

Suddenly, the hound stopped in his tracks. His heads raised, glaring at the area of space directly in front of them. The middle head continued sniffing while the side heads both bore their fangs.

Slowly, hesitantly, Twilight walked up the the great beast. “I-is everything alright Cerberus?” she asked. She eyed the place Cerberus was growling at worriedly.

**-o-**

 “I-is there something there?”

_‘No buck there’s something here! TRIXIE IS!’_ Trixie mentally screamed.

Trixie’s entire being was glowing brightly as she maintained the illusion that hid her and her companions from Cerberus. Iron Will and Gilda were frozen stiff, staring at the demon that was trying to locate them.

Trixie was breathing heavily as beads of sweat rolled down her body. A single slip-up, the merest loss of concentration...

There was a reason why the remains of Gilda’s ancestors were present but Trixie’s weren’t.

The unicorn that was the bane of Trixie’s life spoke up again. “M-maybe I can help,” She said. Trixie’s eyes widened in horror as her horn slowly lit up. “H-here, let me check.”

_‘Oh buck me, not good not good not good!’_  Trixie swore vigorously. She was having a hard enough time keeping up the illusion as it was thanks to Cerberus being so close, if Celestia’s lapdog added on to it...

_‘No!’_ Trixie grit her teeth as the light covering her intensified,  _‘That is_ not _happening!’_

Gilda and Iron Will were forced to look away as Trixie shone brighter and brighter, light even coming out of her eyes as she imitated a supernova.

Trixie’s body was shaking from all the energy she was channeling as she looked Cerberus dead in the eyes and spoke haltingly, her voice laden with power.

**_“Go. Away.”_ **

The moment stretched on for what seemed to be an eternity, before finally...

...a flash of silver passed over the eyes on all three of Cerberus’s heads.

The dog ceased growling and snorted. He turned away and began walking back to where he’d been napping.

Twilight’s horn extinguished itself as she looked at Cerberus in confusion. “Huh? Cerberus? What happened?”

The dog ignored her, settling down and laying his heads on the floor.

Twilight blinked in surprise. “Huh. Must have been a false alarm.”

Gilda and Iron Will breathed a sigh of relief as Trixie panted from exertion.

“Still though...” The purple unicorn looked up at the doors ponderously. “I should probably check the seals, just in case.”

The trio froze and stared at her in horror.

That is, until Cerberus let out a low growl from where he was sitting.

Twilight paled and took a few steps back. “Or, um... maybe not, e-everything seems to be in hoof, PAW! In paw here, so, uh...SORRYGOTTAGOBYE!”

And with that she wheeled around and galloped out of the chamber.

Iron Will snapped to attention. “Follow her, quickly!”

The trio immediately gave chase.

Behind them, Cerberus shifted a bit, until finally he found a position he was comfortable in and promptly fell asleep.

There might have been a slight hiccup, but in the end? It was just an average day in Tartarus.

  **-o-**

 Twilight flinched as she walked out of the cave. “Yeesh, that’s bright! Still though, nice to be out of there.”

Unseen, the trio couldn’t agree more. Iron Will had his hands on his knees and Gilda was sprawled on the grass, both trying to catch their breath. Trixie was panting, barely keeping her illusion up. Luckily, skilled as she was, Twilight was no Cerberus. This meant Trixie didn’t have to hemorrhage as much magic to keep them from being noticed.

The purple unicorn tilted her head up and smiled at the clear skies. “Wow, the weather sure is great today! The local pegasi must be really good!”

Still invisible, Gilda glared at the back of Twilight’s head. Slowly, she got to her paws and prowled up behind the unicorn. She held her talons just behind her head and silently activated her gauntlets. A single, thin strand of lighting ran silently between her spread talons.

Twilight blinked and sniffed in confusion. “Is that...ozone?” she scanned the sky more thoroughly. “But there’s not a cloud in the sky!”

Gilda grit her beak furiously. Just one touch. All it took would be a single scratch and so many problems would just...go away! Just. One. Touch.

A heavy hand fell on her shoulder. She whipped around and was met with Iron Will’s steely gaze. He stared down at her silently. She stared at him furiously for a few seconds before finally  turning her head away snapping her claws into a fist, dispelling the lightning.

Twilight shrugged. “Must have just been my imagination. Oh well, I still need to figure out what that threat is! Time to head back to Ponyville!” And with that, her horn flashed purple and she teleported away.

Trixie sighed in relief as she dispelled her illusion. The she jumped in shock when Gilda screamed in anger and flung her arm out, disintegrating a nearby tree with a full blast of lightning.

“DAMN IT, IRON WILL! I HAD HER!”

Iron Will remained unphased. “It would have been more trouble than she’s worth.”

“MORE TROUBLE!?” she roared. “SHE WAS ONE OF THE  _ELEMENTS_  YOU STUPID COW! IF I HAD KILLED HER- _GACK_!”

Gilda was cut off by a minotaur hand clutching her throat and cutting off her windpipe. “If you killed her,” Iron Will said quietly. “The Alicorns would have been on us in seconds. They would have known something was wrong in Tartarus. They would have caught us and gutted us. All of our work, our  _ancestors_ work would have been for nothing. All because of one stupid, impulsive griffin.  _Do you understand Iron WiIl?”_

Gilda gagged and nodded jerkily. She took a deep gasp of breath and hacked and wheezed when she was released. “I-I get it. I...I know that, damn it,” her eyes were locked on the ground, “I...I just want to make them pay, to hurt them  _so bad_ , for everything they’ve done.”

Iron Will nodded. “Iron Will understands. Iron Will understands all too well,” he slapped his hand on her shoulder and made her look up at him, “But that is not the way. If we want to win, if we ever want to be free, we need to keep our hand hidden. We can’t even let them know that they’re playing. We need to bide our time. We need to get him out. That’s how we win, that’s how we hurt them.”

Gilda was silent for a second before sighing and nodding her head. “...yeah, yeah alright. I got it. I got it.”

“Well, that’s all well and nice!” the two turned to look at Trixie. “But now Trixie has to ask: what the hell do we do now!?”

Iron Will nodded. “Iron Will agrees. The runes are set, what next? Do we activate them?”

Gilda shook her head. “No, no we can’t. Not yet.”

Trixie groaned in disappointment while Iron WIll merely frowned. “Why not?” He inquired.

Gilda turned around and gestured while she began walking away. “Come on. I’ll explain while we make our way back to base.”

Trixie and Iron Will nodded and silently began following her. Meanwhile, Gilda kept talking.

“See, I can set the runes off whenever I want, but because of the time problem, I needed to make a few last-minute adjustments. They’ll crack Tartarus wide, but for this to work, we’re going to need  _one_  thing first.”

**-o-**

 “A distraction!?” Chrysalis demanded.

Gilda sighed and nodded tiredly. “Yeah. And a pretty damn big one to boot.”

Chrysalis growled furiously. “Why the hell-cough! Hack!” the changeling queen cut herself off as a bout of coughing racked her body. She raised her eyes back up and continued to glare at the griffin. “Why the hell do you need a distraction!?” she wheezed.

Gilda rubbed the back of her head sheepishly and averted her eyes. She gazed around their hideout tiredly. It was an average room with next to no furnishings. Just a table, a few chairs, and some cots to sleep in. It was cramped enough with Iron Will and Chrysalis, so the piles of sleeping Changelings did little to help matters.

Gilda swallowed heavily. “Because I had to rush things, the arcane current I managed to get my hands on was significantly smaller than what I anticipated.”

“What. Does that. Mean.” Chrysalis demanded. To Gilda’s alarm, several changelings slowly opened their eyes and began glaring at her.

“What it means,” she continued hastily, “Is that while I can channel the magic into the cell at a moment’s notice, there won’t be a lot for him to work with. It’ll take him too long to bust out. Several alarms will sound on the door and the high and mighty Princesses will shut him and us down. Hard.”

“Hence the distraction,” Iron Will interjected, “We draw their attention away, focus it somewhere and  _keep_  it there. Anywhere that isn’t Tartarus. Long enough for him to break out”

Chrysalis squeezed her eyes and breathed slowly, trying to calm down. Considering how several changelings in the room imitated her, the effect was... _disturbing,_  to say the least. “Fine. Fine!” She exclaimed croakily. “So. How long do we need to hold their focus? Ten minutes? Fifteen?”

Gilda and Iron Will glanced at each other nervously before looking back at the Queen.

“A-an hour.” Gilda stuttered.

The room flooded with green light as all of the eyes present snapped open and focused on Gilda.

_“An hour!?”_ Gilda shivered in fear as several dozen voices echoed around her simultaneously.  _“You want to try and pose a significant threat to two of the strongest entities conscious for an_ hour!?”

Gilda nodded shakily. “At the least.” She squeaked.

Chrysalis bared her fangs and snarled venomously at the terrified griffin.  _“Before I tear you to pieces for your incompetence, I have one question. Where is that_ miserable  _excuse of a unicorn so that I can let her join in on the fun?!”_

The door to the room slammed open. “The Fortuitous and Prosperous Trixie has returned!”

Chrysalis and her children turned their heads to grin maliciously at her.  _“Trixie. How_ nice _of you to join us. We were just talking about you.”_

Trixie smiled triumphantly as she trotted in, kicking the door closed behind her. “Then Trixie is sorry to say that we must change the subject! For you see,” She withdrew three scrolls of parchment from her cape with a flourish. “She has found the  _perfect_  opportunity! Behold!” She tossed the scrolls onto the table, each in front of one of her co-conspirators.

Gilda, Chrysalis and Iron Will took ahold of the scrolls and rolled them open. Their reactions were varied.

Gilda’s jaw dropped. “Holy shit!”

Iron Will’s eyes widened. “Well Iron Will will be damned...”

Chrysalis, meanwhile, had calmed down and was quiet as she read what was written.

“Well?” Trixie inquired. “What do you think?”

“It’s perfect!” Gilda exclaimed enthusiastically.

Iron Will nodded in agreement. “It definitely seems like it would do the trick.”

Chrysalis, however, remained silent.

Trixie lost her smile as she looked at the insectoid monarch. “Chrysalis?” She asked worriedly.

Chrysalis was silent for a moment longer before finally...

“It will take a lot of time. We’ll need to plan, investigate, prepare...”

“But can we do it?” Iron Will insisted.

Chrysalis glanced at the scroll a final time before nodding. “It’s feasible.”

The other three cheered joyously.

“Alright alri-cough! Hack! Hurk!” Chrysalis collapsed into another coughing fit. Her compatriots quieted down as she regained her breath. “E-enough. We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us.”

Her allies nodded in agreement.

“She’s right,” Gilda said. She stood up from her chair. “Come on. “

She grinned viciously at the others, which was mirrored back at her.

“Let’s get started.”

**-One Month Later-**

 Midnight on the Salt Lick Flats. High up on a shelf of rock, seven figures overlooked the famous desert. Far below them ran the tracks for the tracks for the even more renowned Equestria Express.

Trixie, Iron Will, Gilda and Chrysalis were four of the figures. Common changelings composed the rest.

Chrysalis turned her head towards Iron Will. “You’re sure this is the right way? This is  when they’re coming?”

The minotaur nodded. “Positive. This is the only rail that runs directly from Los Pegasus to Canterlot. If they want to make it on time, they’ll be going this way tonight.”

Chrysalis nodded silently before coughing furiously. Her changelings silently slid up to her and supported her as she shook violently.

The others watched her worriedly. The attacks had been growing more frequent and violent, and many of her changelings were becoming groggier and sleepier. Unless something was done soon...

Trixie’s head perked up at a sound in the distance. She whipped her head around, squinted, and jumped for joy. “Look! There!” She pointed off into the distance.

The others turned and grinned in relief at what they saw.

A light in the distance on the rails. The Express.

“Finally.” Chrysalis muttered.

Iron Will nodded and clapped his hands. “Alright people, let’s move!”

His compatriots sprang into action. Gilda flapped up and latched on to Iron Will’s shoulders. One of the changelings buzzed up and landed on Trixie’s back, while the other two both took ahold of their Queen’s sides as she hung between them.

Iron Will looked between them all determinedly. “We have one shot at this. One chance. Iron Will will say this once, and only once. Don’t. Screw. Up.”

Everyone nodded silently. Their eyes were filled with determination.

“Now,” Iron Will grinned enthusiastically. “Let’s go. We have a train to catch.”

“DAMN STRAIGHT!” Gilda cried out. And with that, she flapped her wings and flew over the edge, carrying Iron Will with her, Trixie and Chrysalis following close behind, carried by their Changelings.

Behind them, a piece of parchment silently fluttered onto the rocks. Had anyone been present to see it, they would have been able to make out the words written in a fancy bold print:

**Attention Citizens of our glorious Equestria!**

  
******In one months time, our very own Captain of the Royal Guard, Shining Armor, and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza are to be joined in the bliss of holy matrimony by our wondrous and fair ruler her Highness Princess Celestia!**   


**To Be Continued...**


	3. Crazy Train on a Highway to Hell

There was no conversation between the individuals as they flew towards their target.

As they approached the train, Iron Will noticed several darkened shapes flying above it. He silently pointed them out to the rest. Trixie nodded and lit her horn up. The air around them briefly shimmered before settling.

They easily flew by the bat-winged Night Guard unimpeded.

Approaching the train, the fliers slowed down and landed on the roof of one of the carriages.

Trixie shivered and raised a shield in front of her face. “Yeesh, this wind is atrocious!”

Iron Will nodded, unperturbed by the hostile environment. “All the more reason to get this over with.” He turned towards the insectoid queen. “Chrysalis, would you mind?”

She nodded emotionlessly and lit her own emaciated horn up. One of the changelings stood to attention before falling flat on the roof and crawling over the edge.

“And now we wait...” Gilda muttered as she watched it crawl off.

**-o-**

 Mi Amore Cadenza hummed joyfully to herself as she danced around her train car. “This day is going to be perfect!” She sang. “The kind of day of which I’ve dreamed since I was small!”

She collapsed backwards onto her bed, giggling gleefully. “Oh, I can’t wait! I’ll be there soon, Shiny! Oh!” She darted up, her smile growing wider as a new thought struck her. “I bet that Twilight will be there too! I hope she remembers our old hoofshake!”

She jumped off the bed and wiggled around in the familiar motions. "Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!" She squealed giddily. “Ooooh this is going to be  _great!”_

“All of my old friends will be there too! Celestia, Luna, Ch-!” The pink alicorn suddenly cut herself off, her mood souring instantly. She was silent for a moment before shaking her head vigorously. “Don’t think about it, Cadance. Those days are long gone,” She lit her horn up, grabbed a nearby bottle and proceeded to pour herself a glass of Johnny Trotter. “ _Long_  gone.” She emphasized as she drained the glass in a single gulp.

Suddenly, a flash of green in the corner of her eye caught her attention. However, when she whipped her head around, all she saw was an empty window, the Salt Lick Flats silently flashing by outside.

She blinked in confusion before silently shaking her head. “Just your imagination, Cadance. Just like every other time...” She took a swig of scotch directly from the bottle.

One of the major downsides of immortality: over time, it became really,  _really_  hard to get hammered even if you wanted to be. A fact that was extremely inconvenient when all you wanted to do was forget.

**-o-**

Chrysalis was quiet as her child crawled back onto the roof. “She’s in the caboose. Besides that, there are four other guards. Two unicorns patrolling along the cars, two earth ponies guarding her carriage,” She snorted derisively. “For the record, I am going to have a  _really_  hard time imitating the bubblegum princess.”

“Irrelevant,” Iron Will stated. “You’re aiming to get caught anyways. You don’t need to be flawless, just convincing enough until the ceremony. By then, it’ll be all eyes on you. After that...”

Chrysalis nodded solemnly. “I know, I know,” She sighed heavily. “At least she’s got a well-stocked bar, I get the feeling I’m going to need it.”

“Alright, whatever,” Gilda interjected. “So, how do we get this little shindig started?”

“Actually!” Trixie interjected. “The Tactical and Calculating Trixie shall handle things from here! After all, smoke and mirrors are Trixie’s speciality!”

“What do you have in mind?” Chrysalis inquired.

Trixie smirked sadistically in response.

**-o-**

Iron Vigilance repressed a yawn as he trotted slowly through the empty carriage. The Princesses had rented out the entire train for security purposes, but they still wanted their soldiers to remain on guard, just in case.

_‘Honestly,’_  Vigilance mentally groaned as he walked out between the carriages.  _‘This is ridiculous! For Celestia’s sake, she’s a_ Princess! _There isn’t a single pony in all of Equestria stupid enough to try starting anything with them!’_

Vigilance stopped and sighed as he gazed out over the passing Flats.  _‘Then again, it’s not exactly my place to complain. Orders are orders, I just follow them. Just gotta keep a sharp eye out! As my grandpappy always says, “Constant-!”’_

His train of thought was abruptly cut off when he was snatched off his hooves and had his head slammed into the carriage wall so fast he didn’t even have time to blink.

**-o-**

 Gilda tutted mockingly as she held the limp pony in her talons. “Honestly now, letting a fully grown griffon clad in armor sneak up on you? This guy needs to learn how to keep a better eye out!”

Trixie chuckled. “Trixie agrees completely. Now then!” She clopped her hooves together. “Strip him nude. And Chrysalis? It’s time for phase two!”

**-o-**

Adamant Faith strode confidently through the train car. His mind was set solely on his patrol.  _‘Alright, Vigilance should be coming through that door right...about...’_

The carriage door opened and Iron Vigilance strode through.

_‘There he is. Right on time, just as usual.’_

Adamant nodded at his stony-faced comrade as they crossed paths. However, something made Adamant slow down slightly.

His face twisted in confusion as he sniffed a bit. “Hey, Vigilance, can you smell that? Smells like, I don’t know, an  _insect_  or somet-”

That was all he was able to get out before  _something_  tackled him from behind and the world devolved into a blur of black, chitin, fangs and  _pain._

**-o-**

 Chrysalis sighed as she looked down at the twitching form of the guard. “That was so easy it was almost sad. Maybe he’ll learn not to be so trusting in the future.”

Iron Will withheld a chuckle. “Iron Will finds it hard not to agree.” He looked over at his equine comrade. “So, what next?”

“Now?” Trixie responded eagerly. “Now Trixie takes center stage! Follow Trixie!” she turned and trotted towards the caboose. However, she stopped after taking a few steps. “Oh! Trixie almost forgot!” She raised her hoof and waved it around. “Help Trixie get this armor off, would you?”

**-o-**

Stone Heart and Steel Resolve were silent as they stood guard over the Princess’s carriage. They were the perfect model of a guard. Unflappable, immovable, solid as statues, nothing surprised them.

Nothing, that is, until the door to the carriage in front of them burst open and a flustered mare tumbled out. “Oh! Excuse Trixie! Oh dear! So sorry” She cried as fell in front of them.

In a flash, the two assumed their trained ready-positions, prepared for anything. “Identify yourself!” Stone Heart commanded brazenly.

“Oh! Yes yes yes, of course!” The mare exclaimed as she slowly climbed to her hooves.

Stone Heart and Steel Resolve’s jaws dropped as she did so.

The mare before them...was  _gorgeous!_  With her awe-inspiring blue coat, alluring shimmering eyes, and the way her mane seemed to flow like liquid mithril, she was the very epitome of beauty. Not even one of the Princesses could  _begin_ to compare.

“Please excuse Trixie,” She said softly, her voice tinkling like a thousand bells. “Trixie is so sorry for the inconvenience, she just so happened to get a  _teensy_  bit lost is all.”

Steel Resolve swallowed heavily. “A-ah, that’s alright ma’am! W-would you mind giving me your name?”

The two soldiers felt their hearts skip a beat as the enchanting mare before them gave off simply the  _most_  beautiful laugh they’d ever heard. “Oh, but Trixie would  _so_ much rather  _hear_  your names instead!” She fluttered her eyelashes daintily. “If it’s not too much trouble?”

“S-stone Heart milady!” Stone exclaimed.

“And I’m Steel Resolve!” his comrade interjected. “But you can call me Steel!” This earned him a glare from his partner.

The hostilities ceased immediately when the enchanting mare before them giggled again. “Such fine,” the two caught their breaths as she sidled up close to them, “ _strong_  names. My name,” she breathed in Stone Heart’s ear, “Is the Beautiful, and  _Alluring,_  Trixie.”

Stone Heart swallowed heavily. “A beautiful name for a beautiful mare-hrk!” He withheld a grunt and scowled at Steel Resolve as he withdrew his hoof from his side.

“S-so, Miss Trixie,” Steel Resolve asked. “W-what brings you here?”

Trixie sighed mournfully, a truly heart-shattering noise, as she trotted in front of them. “Ah, how Trixie  _wishes_  she could tell you! Trixie is a travelling mare, you see, wandering where the wind will blow her. One second she is having the most wonderful times in Las Pegasus, the next, poof! She is here, afraid, scared,  _alone...”_ She emphasized the last word, making it sound like the most tragic word ever uttered by ponykind.

“Y-you don’t need to be scared!” Stone Heart exclaimed.

“Yeah!  _I’ll_  protect you!” Steel Resolve concluded. Stone Heart glared at his friend.

“No, I will!”

“ _I_ will!”

“ _Boys!”_ They both snapped their jaws shut and whipped their heads towards Trixie. “You can  _both_  protect Trixie!”

The two broke out into a pair of love-struck grins. “Okay!”

“Now...” She nodded her head back towards the door she’d walked through. “Why don’t we move to somewhere more... _private?”_

The guards expressions dropped simultaneously. “W-we can’t...” Stone Heart stuttered.

“We need to guard the Princess...” Steel Resolve lamented.

Trixie’s expression dropped. Her bottom lip quivered as she tilted her head to the side, the moonlight flashing silver in the bottomless pools that were her eyes.  _“Pleeeease?”_

Steel Resolve and Stone Heart’s hearts all but stopped. They glanced at each other quickly.

“A few seconds couldn’t hurt.”

“Just five minutes. Nothing more.”

Trixie squealed joyfully. She wheeled around and faced the door. “Great! Let’s go and find somewhere a bit more...” Stone Heart and Steel Resolve’s jaws dropped as Trixie walked, her exquisite flank shaking  _just_  so. She glanced back at them, eyes filled with lust. _“Comfortable.”_

Stone and Steel glanced at each other again as she trotted through the door. Then they pelted after her like hounds out of Tartarus.

A few steps into the carriage, it became apparent that something was wrong.

It was immediately obvious when the door slammed shut behind them as they entered. Wheeling around, their hearts dropped as they stared up into the eyes of a griffon and a minotaur.

The griffon, a female, was chuckling sadistically as she cracked the knuckles in her talons. “Hello boys,” She taunted.

The minotaur smirked at them as he mirrored her movements. “How nice of you to join us.”

The two tried to back away, but stopped when they bumped into something. They shakily turned their heads and all but pissed themselves as a pair of sickly green eyes glared down at them.

The eyes narrowed menacingly and leaned in closer.

“Boo.”

The two didn’t even have time to scream.

**-o-**

 Chrysalis shook her head as the two earth ponies groaned in pain. “This is pathetic. Has the quality of the guard dropped so much over the years?”

Gilda snorted derisively. “Lady, the last war Equestria saw? It was fought with  _pies._ By  _civilians!”_

Chrysalis stared at her deadpan. “Are you- cough! Hack!” Chrysalis collapsed as another fit racked her body. “Gragh! Damn this blasted harmony!” She wheezed. “If it weren’t clogging the air, I could get my powers back and conquer this pathetic nation myself!”

“That’s why we’re doing this.” Trixie intervened. “We get him out, and then he can free the magic up again. You and your hive will be able to breathe freely. We all will.”

Chrysalis panted heavily for a moment before nodding “Fine. Fine! So now what? Do we take her down?”

Iron Will raised an eyebrow. “A griffon, a unicorn, a minotaur, a crippled Queen and her entourage against an Alicorn. Sounds like a bad joke.”

Trixie nodded in agreement. “That’s because it is. We need to continue our ploy. Gilda!”

The griffon blinked in surprise. “Yeah?”

“Did you learn that trick you told Trixie you read about and that Trixie told you to figure out?”

Gilda frowned. “Yeah, why-?” Her eyes widened in shock. “Oh. Oh! That...do you think you can do it?”

The unicorn nodded. “Trixie most certainly  _hopes_  she can! Alright, listen up!” Her comrades leaned in.

“Here’s how we’re going to do this...”

**-o-**

 Cadance was dozing peacefully on her bed, trying to forget the old, unwanted memories she’d stirred up. Suddenly, she was awakened by a ruckus arising outside her door.

“Ma’am, no! You can’t! Stop right there!”

“Please! I-I  _neeeed_  to meet with her! I-I’m begging you!”

“He said no, la-!” THUD! “OW!  _GRAB HER!”_

“ _Pleeeeeease!”_

Cadance got to her hooves and dashed to the door, slamming it open. “What is going on...out here!?”

Cadance stared dumbfounded at the sight before her. Steel Resolve and Stone Heart were struggling to hold down a unicorn mare who was putting on a vicious struggle.

The mare was...not ugly, but not particularly attractive either. Her blue coat was disheveled, and her mane and tail were particularly frizzy, sticking out at odd ends. Oddly enough, she had a feather stuck behind one of her ears.

Stone Heart’s head snapped up and he caught sight of Cadance. “Princess! My apologies, we don’t know where she came from, we’ll-GAH!” He cried out as a stray hoof lashed out and caught him on the chin. “Damn it, hold still you little-!”

“Steel, Stone, stand down!” Cadance commanded firmly.

The two guards stood back and let the mare scramble to her hooves.

“Now!” She said. “Could someone  _please_  explain to me what’s going on!?”

The mare fell into a sloppy courtesy. “P-princess! I-it’s an honor!”

The guards snapped into a salute. “Milady!” Steel Resolve said. “This person stowed away on the train and attempted to intrude on your carriage!”

“N-no!” The mare exclaimed. “I-it’s not like that!” She whipped her head around towards the Princess. “Y-your highness, m-my name is T-trixie! Trixie L-lulamoon. I-I’m sorry for w-what I d-did, I know it was w-wrong, b-b-but...”

Cadance blinked in confusion. “But? Please, why did you-?”

“I-I needed to meet you!” Trixie blurted out. “T-I’ve been your biggest fan f-for so long, so w-when I saw t-the opportunity to m-meet with you-!”

“Alright, that’s enough out of you!” Stone Heart said gruffly as he and Steel took her by the shoulders. “We’re going to find a nice carriage for you to sit in for the rest of the ride. Then, we’ll hand you over to the nice ice-cream stallions from the Canterlot Mental Hospital when we arrive.”

Trixie immediately began struggling again. “N-no, wait, please! No!”

“Hold it!” Cadance exclaimed.

The three ponies paused and stared at her.

“Please, let her go.”

The guards gaped at her in shock. “Wh-! Milady, we can’t advise-!”

Cadance cut them off by holding her hoof up. “She’s just an overenthusiastic fan. There’s no harm. She went to all this trouble to meet with me, it would be wrong to turn her away now.” She smiled kindly at Trixie.

Trixie returned the smile, a slight twitch appearing on the left side of her  mouth. “Th-thank you, your highness! This is... _truly_  an honor!”

Cadance giggled lightly. “It’s quite alright, my friend.”

Stone Heart was adamant. “Princess-!”

“Stone Heart, please.” She said. “I understand your concern, but I’ll be  _fine._  Look, if you want to help, why don’t you go and get us something to eat? The attendants at the last station forgot to provide any food in my carriage and the poor thing sounds like she’ll be sick any second!”

Trixie’s eye twitched viciously all of a sudden.

“Have you considered getting that looked at?” Cadance asked curiously.

Trixie’s smile stretched ever so slightly and her eye twitched again. “Y-yes. I-it’s fine, doesn’t act up often.”

“Oh, that’s great! Would you care to come in?” Cadance gestured into her carriage.

“G-gladly!” Trixie exclaimed as she trotted in.

“Milady-!”

“Thank you, Steel Resolve, that will be all.” Cadance cut him off as she shut the door. She sighed tiredly. “I apologize for that. They mean well, but I swear that Shiny chose the most oppressive guards he could find for my security detail!”

“I-it’s fine, they d-didn’t hurt me.”

“Good. It’s just...I know that Shiny means well, he worries and I love him for it, but honestly! Who would try and hurt me? Even  _if_ someone had a problem with me, I’m sure I could easily handle it without violence!”

Trixie’s eye twitched again. “T-that sounds... _wonderful.”_

Cadance looked at her in worry. “Are you sure you’re alright? Your voice really doesn’t sound well.”

Trixie waved her hoof dismissively. “I-it’s nothing! J-just a b-bit of motion s-sickness is all.”

“Oh! Well in that case, would you like me to pour you a drink? It might help you settle your stomach!”

Trixie nodded enthusiastically. “O-oh yes p-please!”

Cadance giggled at Trixie’s antics as she trotted over to the bar. “So, Trixie,” She said as she got the glasses out. “Why exactly did you need to meet with me so desperately?”She asked as she turned around and levitated a glass over to her new friend.

Trixie accepted the glass eagerly. “T-thank you!” She drained it in a single gulp. “Ah! That’s d-delicious! A-anyways, T-I-I wanted to m-meet with you to t...t-t-t,”

“Motion sickness again?” Cadance asked worriedly.

“Sure, y-yes, that. Look, I wanted t-to meet you so that I c-could... _t-thank you.”_  Trixie finally managed to spit out.

Cadance blinked in shock. “Thank me? But I’ve never met you before!”

Trixie nodded her head in agreement. “N-no, you haven’t, b-but you still h-helped me!” Her horn lit up as she levitated the feather out from behind her ear. “T-this feather. I-it belongs to Trixie’s special someone.”

The pink Princess tilted her head in confusion. “Don’t you mean some _pony?”_

Trixie shook her head shyly. “N-no.”

Cadance was silent for a moment before her eyes widened in realization. “Oh. Oh!  _Oh!”_ The Princess was rather surprised. While not non-existent or forbidden, inter-species relationships were notoriously rare. “I-congratulations!”

Trixie hid her smile behind her mane. “T-thank you. I-I l-l-loved her for a l-long time. I-I wanted to tell her so  _much,_  but I-I just c-couldn’t. T-then...” She turned her smile up towards Cadance. “I-I prayed to y-you for s-strength and c-courage. A-and then...” She smiled dreamily at the feather. “She g-gave me this. As a s-symbol of our l..l-l- _love...”_

Cadance smiled kindly at her. “I’m so happy for you! I wish you both the happiest and most prosperous of futures!”

Trixie chuckled. “Th-thank you. S-say...” She levitated the feather over to Cadance. “W-would you like to feel it? I-it’s the s-softest t-thing I-I’ve ever felt...”

Cadance giggled pleasantly. “I would be honored.” she raised her hoof, extending it to touch the soft vane of the feath-

ZAP!

Cadance’s eyes shot wide in horror as an electric shock traveled the course of her body. She tried to move her body, her wings, use her magic.

Nothing.

_‘Wh-what’s going on!?’_  she cried out mentally.

To her shock, Trixie seemed to transform before her eyes. The timid, nervous look in her eyes washed away, replacing itself with a cold, cocky look, and her mouth twisted into a scowl. Her horn lit up as she used her magic to flatten out her coat and tame her mane. The filly that Cadance had gotten to know for a whole of three minutes was gone. In her place was a calm, self-assured mare.

“Urgh!” The unicorn exclaimed as she trotted past the paralyzed Alicorn to the door. Her voice had lost any and all trace of it’s previous stutter. “Trixie is  _so_  glad that you fell for that. Ten more seconds of that pure and utter manure and Trixie really  _would_ have puked!” she rapped her hoof on the carriage door. “It’s done!”

The door swung open and, to Cadance’s surprise, a griffon and a minotaur stepped and stooped through it respectively. However, while she was shocked by their species, she was  _terrified_  by something else about them.

Their armor. She knew that brand of armor, she knew it all too well.

And the implications of said armor’s re-appearance was too horrifying for words.

_‘No...’_ she mentally whimpered.  _‘No, not them. Please, dear_ Celestia, _anyone but them. Anyone but_ him! _’_

The griffon, unaware of the Alicorn’s distress, or perhaps all  _too_  aware of it, smirked at the unicorn. “So, Trixie? We’re  _lovers_ are we?”

“Trixie would sooner fall to her knees and worship Celestia’s glorious alabaster ass.” Trixie snarled. She trotted over to the bar, grabbed the bottle and took a swig. “Ah! Trixie is keeping this bottle! She needs to forget about this little stunt,  _desperately!”_

“Hehehe.” The minotaur chuckled sardonically. “Now who’s putting on the interesting performances?”

“Shove it, Iron Will! Shove it somewhere painful!”

Iron Will raised an eyebrow. “Still though, how exactly did you manage to pull that off?”

Trixie sighed miserably as she took another swig. “Trixie has had  _more_  than enough fans over the years to learn how to imitate one. But that does  _not_  mean Trixie enjoyed it! Now shut your traps and let the Miserable and Ashamed Trixie drown her sorrow in peace!” she cried dramatically as she tilted the bottle back and began desperately draining it.

Cadance fought vigorously against her paralysis, but all she managed to do was get a few words out. “W-what d-did...”

“Well would you look at this!” the griffon leaned down and smirked at her terrified face. “She speaks! Impressive! Really says something about you Alicorns that you can work around that kind of a voltage. Just in case though...” The griffon plucked a feather out of her wing. Her gauntlets lit up in a sickeningly familiar pattern of runes, lightning engulfing the feather. When the light faded, the feather was unchanged. The griffon lightly brushed it along Cadance’s snout-

ZAP!

Causing her to whimper as another bolt of electricity ran through her, robbing her of her ability to speak.

“To answer your question,” the griffon gloated smugly. “ _That_  was a trick my ten-times great grand-dad Ignatius Behertz came up with. Took awhile to work out, can’t even  _begin_ to tell you how many times I shocked myself trying, but it looks like it paid off!”

“Of course it did, Gilda!” Trixie cried out, her voice slightly slurred. “It was all part of the Great and...great and... ah, whatever, it was all a part of Trixie’s plan, of course it worked! Hic!”

Gilda raised an eyebrow at the unicorn. “One bottle and you’re already hammered? How light-weight  _are_  you?”

“Not even a bit!” She protested, “Trixie just isn’t trying to resist alcohol’s sweet, tender embrace is all!”

“Enough!” Iron Will said. “Iron Will thinks it’s time we move this along.”

“Agreed! Hic!”

“Hehehehe, got it.” Gilda leered at Cadance. “We’ve got a friend who’s been  _dying_  to meet with you, Princess. Do you want to meet with her?”

“Mmm! Mmmm-mmm!” Cadance whimpered.

“Great!” Gilda turned her head towards the door. “Come on in!”

The carriage door re-opened, and to Cadance’s shock, Stone Heart, Steel Resolve and Iron Vigilance trotted through.

Her heart all but stopped as the trio of guards were engulfed with a familiar green fire. When the fire died away, her heart really  _die_  stop for a second. Left in their places were a trio of black, insectoid figures, all wearing the soldiers armor.

She knew what they were.

And she knew that their presence could mean only one thing. One person.

Her eyes widened in horror as her worst fears came true.

Proud, tall and unflappable, Queen Chrysalis strode through the door, towering over Cadance’s diminutive form.

“Why, hello there Princess.” She said coldly. “It’s been awhile. How long, hmm? A few thousand years? At the least. How have you been? I hear you’re getting married now. That’s great! I’ve just been having the most  _wonderful_  nap.”

Tears were streaming down Cadance’s cheeks as she stared up at the Changeling matriarch.

“Let me clarify something for you. Yes, this is  _exactly_ what it looks like. Our goal is to break  _him_  out of the hole you threw him into. But, to do that, we’re going to have to crash your beautiful little ceremony. Tragic, I know, but what can you do!” Chrysalis chuckled mirthlessly. “So...before I render you unconscious and take your place, I have to ask,” She gestured at Gilda, who put her talon on Cadance’s shoulder. Energy flowed through Cadance before her tongue loosened up. “Any last words?”

Cadance whimpered miserably as she stared up at the Changeling Queen. “I-I’m s-sorry-!”

SLAP!

“EEP!”

Cadance’s head jerked to the side from the hit. She then cried out in pain as her mane was yanked and she was forced to look into Chrysalis’ glowing green eyes. Her face had contorted into an expression of pure fury.

“Don’t,” Chrysalis whispered, her voice filled with quiet rage. “Don’t you  _dare_  try and apologize for what you did. What you and those two did was disgusting,  _despicable._  You  _betrayed_  Concordia. You betrayed us all. You betrayed Minos, and Serpense, and the Brothers, and Solum and Daemos and so many others. You betrayed  _me.”_  She pressed her face right up next to Cadance’s, her voice dropping to little more than a breath.

“You. Betrayed.  _Scholar.”_ She pulled back again, glaring down at Cadence imperiously.

“There is no forgiveness for the atrocities you have committed. No excuses. All there is is justice.” Chrysalis strode past her, moving out of her line of sight. “Pray that Astraea has mercy on your soul.  _If_  you have one left. Trixie?”

“Hmm?” The unicorn turned her attention away from the bottle she’d been nursing, suddenly alert.

“Wipe her.”

Trixie’s horn lit up and her eyes flashed silver. “On it.”

Cadance felt the telltale signs of a mental probe, but emotionally wrecked as she was, she couldn’t even begin to attempt to mount a defense.

She only had enough time left for one coherent thought.

_‘Shiny, I’m sorry. I’m so so sorr-!”_

After that, everything went blank.

**-o-**

Chrysalis was silent as she stared through the window and off into the distance.

Finally, a voice spoke up. “It’s done. When she wakes up, the last clear memory in her head will be getting on this train.”

Chrysalis sighed and closed her eyes, nodding in acceptance. “Thank you.”

All was quiet for a moment.

Finally, a heavy hand fell on Chrysalis’ shoulder. She looked back and up into Iron Will’s eyes. A silent question was present within.

She stared for a moment before sighing and looking back out the window. “She was my friend. We were all friends back then. Good ones. Close. Like the Elements, but...bigger. When those three...did what they did... betrayed us...” She closed her eyes as a single green tear flowed down her cheek. “It hurt.” She was silent for a second before re-opening her eyes, all traces of emotion gone. “We don’t have time for this. We can talk later, but for now I have to prepare.”

She walked up to Cadance’s prone body and stared down at her impassively. Finally, she sighed and twisted her face in distaste. “Urgh, this is part I’ve been dreading,” she muttered. Her horn lit up in a green light and a beam engulfed the Princess from head to tail. When the light died down, Cadance was unharmed but Chrysalis was coughing and sticking her tongue out in disgust. “Ugh, gack! Disgusting!”

Gilda blinked in surprise. “The heck did you do?”

Chrysalis spit her saliva out. “Yuck. Urgh, I just fed off of her love for that Shining Armor of hers for extra energy.”

Gilda reeled back. “Wh- you can do that!?”

Chrysalis rolled her eyes. “Yes, I can do that. Honestly now, what kind of Alumnus  _are_  you?”

“The kind that only takes interest in researching things that go bang!” Trixie supplied.

“Hey!”

“It’s true!”

“Well...yeah? So what!?”

Chrysalis scoffed. “Figures. Anyways, I used Venti Canis.”

Gilda raised an eyebrow. “The Wind Dog?”

“Good, you’re not totally inept. The Wind Dog is a technique developed by studying the Boreads, the northern and most famous subspecies of Windigo. Windigoes of all species are renowned for feeding passively off of emotions, so Venti Canis was developed to let those skilled enough do it directly, and with a higher emotion-to-magic ratio.” She groaned in disgust as she grimaced. “But doing it on love is less than inadvisable.”

“Why, it doesn’t taste good?”

“No, it tastes sweet.” Chrysalis stuck her tongue out. “ _Too_  sweet. It tastes like I just ate an entire bag of sugar. Only an  _idiot_  would feed off of it! And unfortunately, I need to be that brand of idiot if I want to have enough magic for this to work. I’m going to to have to skim some more off of her fiancé, Shining Armor. Which will  _not_  be fun.”

“Right!” Trixie clopped her hooves together. “Well, we’ll leave you here to get into character. Meanwhile, we’ll be tying up the rest of the loose ends. Agreed?”

Chrysalis nodded. “Agreed.” Her horn lit up again. “I suggest you get out of here. Long-term disguises cause a hell of a light-show when they’re cast.”

Iron Will drew the blinds on the windows while Gilda picked up Cadance’s body. They followed Trixie out of the caboose.

The unicorn glanced inside one final time. “Good luck, Chrysalis.”

Chrysalis was silent for a second before finally...“You too...Trixie.”

Trixie shut the door and caught up with her comrades. As they walked away, the caboose was filled with green light.

**-o-**

 Shining Armor grinned giddily as the train pulled into the station.

“Guards, attention!” He cried out. He beamed in pride as his men snapped into their practiced positions.

The carriage door opened. Iron Vigilance, Adamant Faith, Stone Heart and Steel Resolve filed out, standing at attention. Then, at long last, out stepped...

“Cadance!” Shining cried in joy as he ran up and hugged his beloved.

“Shiny!” She squealed, hugging him back.

“I missed you so much, my love.” He said blissfully.

Mi Amore Cadenza’s smile grew wider. “Me too, Shiny, me too. But don’t worry, just a few more hours. Then...”

No one saw as her smile gained a vicious undertone and her eyes flashed green.

No one saw as the four guards who had walked off the train rubbed their heads, their eyes tinted slightly silver.

No one saw as a blur of air left the train, flying towards the defunct entrance to Canterlot’s abandoned Crystal Mines.

“...you’ll be mine, all mine.”

No one heard the malicious hint to her giggle.

**To Be Continued...**


	4. Memories amidst the Madness

Chrysalis stared tiredly out of the window. Playing before her was a unique scene. One she’d imagined time and time again since waking up.

_‘Canterlot under siege,’_ Chrysalis mused.  _‘The sight of my children burning it to the ground is truly a beautiful one...’_

Everything had gone perfectly. Standards had dropped so low over the years that not even the royal sisters themselves maintained even the barest of mental shields. It was larva’s play for Chrysalis to shroud herself in a mental barrier that passively influenced anyone that interacted with her.

It was a classic tool, one used for long-terms like she was wearing, but it did the job. Normally, it wouldn’t have worked to the extent that it did, but these were special circumstances.

Once her comrades had deposited Cadance, they’d managed to fake a letter to Celestia, issuing a threat to Canterlot and the marriage. With Shining Armor concentrating on the barrier and Celestia and Luna on the warpath, Chrysalis's antics were easily overlooked.

For the most part, anyways.

Twilight Sparkle, Celestia’s pet unicorn, was the exception that proved the rule. Only individuals of extreme intelligence could circumvent the barrier and perceive the errors in the disguise. While it spoke  _wonders_  of Celestia’s IQ, it was also dangerous. It was only thanks to Chrysalis's quick thinking and some active mental persuasion that she was able to dissuade Celestia and Shining Armor from unveiling her ploy.

After that, there was only one viable course of action: dispose of Twilight Sparkle.

It had been simplicity incarnate. While passive influence held little sway over her, the lavender unicorn was still wide open to active persuasion. All Chrysalis had to do was direct her to sit where she wanted her to.

One unnoticed Rune Array later and she had joined Cadance in the mines. She’d had an especially enjoyable time taunting her. And Iron Will had said the Communications Arrays on the gems were a waste of resources!

Still, the damage had been done. Shining Armor had very nearly broken through the mental conditioning she’d been putting him through, forcing Chrysalis to place him in a vegetative state and extend her mental barrier to him so that no one would notice the change.

But, instead of panicking, she did what any good changeling would do when presented with unforeseen circumstances.

She played it to her advantage.

**-45 Minutes Earlier-**

 Chrysalis smirked as she stared into Shining Armor’s dull green eyes.

_‘Perfect.’_ She thought. She quickly sought out and activated her mental link between herself and her comrades.  _“Gilda, can you hear me?’”_

_“Ow! Yes, damn it! A little warning next time!”_ The griffon protested.  _‘What, what is it?’_

_“New circumstances have arisen. Activate the runes, we’re stepping the schedule up.”_

Chrysalis could feel Gilda’s shock through the link.  _“Wh- hang on, the whole point of this charade was to do this during the invasion! If we start it now, those two will know and eviscerate us!”_

_“You’d be right...”_  Chrysalis replied. She then smirked as Shining Armor’s eyes flashed brightly.  _“If I hadn’t taken control of Shining Armor and altered his shield_ just  _a smidge.”_

Gilda was silent for a second before quietly responding.  _“...what did you do?”_

Chrysalis's smugness could be felt across the link.  _“Oh, nothing much, just made it so that magical signals can’t enter the barrier and reach Canterlot. Like, say, the alarms on Tartarus?”_

Gilda’s exhilaration came through loud and clear.  _“EPIC! I’ll get right on it! Enjoy the wedding, and save us some cake!”_

  **-o-**

  _“Will do. I have to go now. This is the last you’ll hear from me until all is said and done. Don’t want to risk Celestia tracing the link, after all. Good luck.”_

_“You too!”_ Gilda winced slightly as the connection receded but grinned enthusiastically at Trixie and Iron Will. “We’re good to go.”

Trixie jumped gleefully. “Huzzah!”

Iron Will pumped his fist. “At last!”

Gilda nodded. “Alright, one second.” She walked over to a nearby bag and dug out a tablet of stone. She tapped it with her claw, causing the runes inscribed on it to light up. She gestured with her gauntlet, re-arranging the shapes and figures until they were to her liking. She silently raised her head and stared at the entrance to Tartarus. “We’re good to go. Just one tap...and the world changes.”

Iron Will nodded solemnly. “Well, friends, are you ready?”

The other two froze and slowly turned to look at him. “...friends?” Gilda whispered.

Iron Will blinked in surprise. “Well...yeah, Iron Will thought we were friends. After all we’ve been through...aren’t we?”

Gilda and Trixie were silent for a moment. When they’d come together, it had been out of a sense of duty. They’d been chosen. The Guide, the Scribe and the Guard, like their ancestors before them, signaled by Scholar himself no less! They were comrades, allies, yes. But friends?

At long last, Trixie spoke. “The...Trixie...Trixie  _supposes_ that she could do worse than you.”

“Y-yeah,” Gilda concurred hesitantly. “I mean, it’s not like you’re  _total_  dweebs. For a unicorn and a minotaur...you guys are...actually kinda cool?”

Iron Will smiled and nodded decisively. “Friends it is then. Gilda? Do it.”

The griffon swallowed. “Right.” She turned back to the cave. “End of the world. Not with a bang, but a whimper.” She tapped the tablet, causing the runes to flash brightly.

**-o-**

Deep beneath the earth, Cerberus slumbered before the gates of Tartarus.

Unseen behind him, high up on the monolithic doors, a section of runes flashed as they activated.

**-o-**

Within Tartarus itself, a series of chains lit up, magic coursing along them until finally...

They made contact with Scholar.

The Rune Keeper jerked for a second, unused to the level of magic after so long before finally smirking and cackling madly. “HAHAHAHAHA! They did it! THEY DID IT! Finally, at long last! Ready or not, Celestia, cause here!”

The runes flashed off his robe and coursed up the chains, multiplying and spreading along the metal links.

“I!”

Chains began snapping, one after another after another, with increasing frequency. Each louder and more violent than the last.

“COME!”

**-Present-**

_‘Fifteen more minutes,’_  Chrysalis mused.  _‘I just need to keep playing around with the Elements for fifteen minutes. After that...who knows. Still...’_ She watched as her changelings chased down Canterlot’s citizens.  _‘Why does such a beautiful sight leave me feeling so empty?’_

“You won’t succeed, you know.”

Chrysalis snarled and bared her fangs.  _‘Oh yes, now I remember.’_

How could she possibly forget? She was in the presence of the royal nag herself. She could clearly remember their little conflict earlier.

**-Five Minutes Earlier-**

 “Now that you have so foolishly revealed yourself,” Celestia snarled as she and Chrysalis clashed their horns together. “I can protect my subjects,” She reared back flapping into the air before blasting a beam of golden light at Chrysalis. “FROM YOU!”

Chrysalis bared her fangs in fury, countering the beam with her own green variety.

Magic against magic, abject fury against abject fury. Neither gained ground, neither gave.

Though they were silent on the outside, inside their own minds, they were far from quiet.

_“How!?”_ Celestia screamed.  _“How are you awake! How dare you do this!”_

_“How dare I! HOW DARE I!?_ _After what you did to Concordia, you are the last_ person  _I want to hear that manure from!”_ Chrysalis returned, emphasizing the word.

Celestia sent her a bolt of pure rage.  _“Don’t call me that!”_

Chrysalis chuckled mirthlessly. _“What, ‘person’? Oh, what’s wrong, can’t stand to be reminded of the_ utopia _you helped create? The utopia you_ destroyed!”

_“That was not my fault, Chrysalis!”_ Celestia raged.

_“Yes it was! But that’s neither here nor there. If you don’t like old memories, then you’ll hate this: This isn’t the first time we’ve been in this position, Celestia!”_ Chrysalis's physical body cracked an eye open and glanced up at Celestia’s shining being.  _“Remember?”_

And Celestia did. Her eyes widened as she remembered, her mind flashing back, back through time to where they’d once been.

Back to the days of Concordia.

**~~~**

  **Chrysalis broke her beam off and teleported, leaving Celestia’s own attack to dig a furrow into the ground.**

**Celestia smirked. She teleported in a second, letting Chrysalis's attack burn through the space she’d once occupied as the Changeling Queen tried to strike at her from behind.**

**The two teleported to the ground, legs spread and bodies at the ready as they stared into each other’s eyes, both challenging the other, daring them to move.**

**“You’re getting slow, bug-breath!” Celestia called out tauntingly.**

**Chrysalis tilted her head back and cackled “I’m still better than you, oh great and radiant nag!” she retorted mockingly.**

**It was at that point that they were reminded that they were being watched.**

**“WOO! GO AUNT CELESTIA!” “INDEED! HAVE AT HER, SISTER!”**

**Celestia turned her head and smiled at the onlookers.**

**Cadance and Luna were waving enthusiastically at Celestia from the sidelines, cheering her on.**

**But that didn’t mean Chrysalis was alone either.**

**“Go Chrysalis!” “You the changeling!” “Beat her down!”**

**Chrysalis smirked at her own supporter.**

**He was a hydra: Twenty-five feet of smooth, serpentine body, from the tip of one of his heads to the end of his tail. He was covered in dark, swampy-green scales. Seven snake-like heads were weaving around on long, agile necks. They all connected back to his large, muscular body, which was supported on trunk-like legs, similar to those of an elephant. Extending out of his rear was a long, serpentine tail.**

**“Kick her flank!” The heads took turns speaking. “No quarter!” “I’ve got a lot of cash riding on this!” “If you lose, I’ll pump you so full of toxins you won’t be able to tell a golem from an ent!”**

**“Oooooh, now that sounds interesting!” Floating next to the hydra was a mis-matched creature that was munching on a bag of popcorn. “Pray tell, where might I be able to get my claws on such a** **_miraculous_ ** **substance?”**

**The hydra’s heads snorted simultaneously. “Nice try, Discord!” “Do I look like an idiot?” “I wouldn’t sell that stuff to you for all the gold in the world.” “You’re bad enough sober!”**

**The draconequus pouted pitifully. “Hmph! This is discrimination! You’re a cruel hydra, Serpense.”**

**“Bite me.” The heads responded simultaneously.**

**“Hahahaha! Enough, enough already!” All heads turned to the chuckling individual.**

**Scholar was doing his best to keep the smirk off his face, but it was a hard job. “No more  audience participation, otherwise we’ll never get this over with!”**

**Discord huffed childishly while Serpense rolled his eyes and snickered.**

**“Alright then,” He turned back to the two who were poised to fight and raised his hand. “Ready to continue?”**

**Celestia’s smirk widened. “Age before beauty.” She said, gesturing at Chrysalis.**

**The insectoid matriarch grinned in anticipation. “If you want to go first so bad, then by all means.”**

**Scholar brought his hand down in a chopping motion. “FIGHT!”**

**The twin royalties charged at each other, horns alight and ready to go.**

**~~~**

 Celestia’s eyes widened in panic as she snapped out of the memory. It had merely been for a second, only an instant.

But in this kind of conflict? It was enough.

_“Check and mate, Celestia!”_ Chrysalis smirked as she redoubled her blast, taking advantage her opponent’s inattentiveness.

Gold succumbed to green, and then all at once...

ZAP!

“PRINCESS CELESTIA!”

**-Present-**

 Chrysalis had been left alone with the two princesses and the unicorn’s pet dragon. And quite frankly, the old acquaintances were spoiling her mood.

She wheeled around, glaring at the solar diarch. “Oh? Really? I won’t win? Look around you, Celestia! Your precious capital is falling apart at the seams! How could I possibly lose?!”

“T-twilight and her friends will-” Spike tried to speak, but he was cut off when she turned her head and pinned him with a glare from a single glowing green eye.

The baby dragon shivered in terror as he stared into the glowing orb. “Silence, peon!” She whispered harshly, her voice carrying over to him. “I am Queen Chrysalis, Matriarch of the Changelings,  _Acentetus Mendacium,_ and Oligarch of Concordia _._  I will not be interrupted by the pitiful excuse for a salamander that the people of this time have the  _gall_  to call a dragon.”

“Leave him alone!” Cadance cried from where she had been glued to the ground.

Chrysalis whipped her stare to the would-be bride. “Don’t deny it! Look at him! He’s at least  _thirteen_  years old! He should be at  _least_ twice as long as me! Yet another wonderful aspect of your ever so  _glorious_  perfect world, Celestia!”

Celestia growled and struggled, trying to get to her hooves. “Ergh...I...I bear no regrets...for what I did. Equus-”

SLAM!

“ARGH!” Celestia cried out, trying to move her head. Sadly enough, she was unable to due to it being pinned beneath Chrysalis's hoof.

“You can claim whatever you desire,” Chrysalis stated coldly. “But don’t you  _dare_  try and claim that. Say it. Say the real name of our world, and not the lie you told your peons.”

Celestia grunted, straining against the slowly increasing pressure on her head, before finally.

“MUNDUS!” Chrysalis whipped her head over to the sobbing Cadance. “Ch-Chrysalis,  _please!_ Look around you, Mundus has never been safer, never been more at peace-!”

“And all it took,” Chrysalis interrupted, her voice cold and deadly as she stepped off of Celestia and slowly trotted over to Cadance. “Was sealing away every little last bit that didn’t agree with you.” She leaned in close to the Alicorn, making her tilt back in fear. “All it took was to take absolute control, and destroy what it once was. From the ground, up.”

“We had to.” Chrysalis whipped her head back around to Celestia. The mare was glaring at her defiantly, not a trace of fear or remorse in her eyes. Only determination. “That world was dangerous. It was wild, untameable. So many got hurt, so many died.”

“That’s nature, you nag.” Chrysalis responded calmly. “Yes, people die. It’s a fact. You get stronger and you move on, that’s how the world works. But you!” Chrysalis chuckled mirthlessly. “You didn’t let that happen. You  _coddled_  these pathetic fools, let them stagnate. And whenever they faced the world without you to hold their hoof, they suffered for it.”

Celestia was breathing heavily as she stared neutrally into Chrysalis's eyes. “I did it for my little ponies.” She said evenly.

**“BUT NOT FOR CONCORDIA!”** Chrysalis screamed, magic blazing around her emphasizing her fury as she teleported in front of Celestia, who remained impassive.  **“YOUR DUTY WAS NOT SOLELY TO THEM, BUT TO US ALL! WE SHARED THE RESPONSIBILITY, WE PROTECTED EVERYONE! UNTIL** ** _YOU_** **BETRAYED US! HOW MANY** ** _CURSED_** **YOU AS THEY WERE LOCKED IN THEIR PRISONS!? HOW MANY** ** _CURSED_** **YOUR NAME AS YOU SEALED THEM AWAY TILL THE END OF TIME!? HOW MANY HAVE** ** _CURSED_** **YOUR VERY** ** _EXISTENCE_** **AS THEIR SPECIES DWINDLED AWAY FROM THE PROUD MIGHT IT ONCE HELD, DISAPPEARING INTO THE SHADOWS CAST BY YOU AND YOUR** ** _PRECIOUS_** **‘LITTLE PONIES’!?** ** _HOW MANY!?”_**

Chrysalis panted, her green aura fading away as she finished her tirade. Cadance was sobbing miserably where she stood, muttering over and over again how sorry she was. Spike, on the other hand, was petrified, staring dead ahead.

Celestia, however, remained still, her face devoid of emotions. “You can try as much as you want, Chrysalis, you’ll still fail in the end.”

Chrysalis rolled her eyes and scoffed as she turned around and began to walk back to the window. “Clearly. You actually need a  _soul_  to feel guilt, and I’m fairly certain that if Solum ever came to collect, he’d come up empty.”

“No, I meant your plan to break Scholar out.”

Due to their nature as being deceitful and hiding their true selves, changelings were masters at controlling their own emotions. Which was why despite panicking on the inside, Chrysalis was able to casually turn her head and glance back at Celestia out of the corner of her eye. “Hm?”

The white Alicorn rolled her eyes. “Oh don’t give me that act you overgrown maggot. I  _know_ that this is all a ploy to draw attention. Your hive is nowhere near back to full power, and neither are you. This is a suicide mission, and headstrong as you are, you’d never agree to one without proper recompense. There’s only one goal good enough for you: freeing Scholar from Tartarus.”

Chrysalis rolled her eyes and sighed tiredly. “Really now, Celestia, you’re letting your age show, seeing connections where they aren’t. Why can’t this be about simple, good old fashioned revenge, hm? Why does it all have to link back to Scholar, like he’s the main character in some mediocre work of fiction?”

“Hmm, let’s see...” Celestia mused as she looked up in mock thought. “You’re undyingly loyal to a long-dead nation that only he can revive, you’re attacking a month after Cerberus was lured away from his post, oh, I know, how about this?” Celestia looked Chrysalis dead in the eyes.

“You’re in love with him.”

Chrysalis’s eyes shot wide open as she stared at Celestia in shock. Cadance and Spike were also staring, but while Spike was doing it in surprise of what he’d learnt, Cadance’s reason was different.

“Despite,” Celestia continued. “The fact that he didn’t love you back.”

Fangs gnashed in pure fury as Chrysalis clenched her jaws.

“CELESTIA!” The solar diarch turned in surprise to look at Cadance. Her niece was staring at her, her body shaking in anger. “Too far. Even after all she’s done, that’s too far.”

Chrysalis shook in pure anger for a moment more before simply...deflating. Her head bowed and shoulders slumped, she turned around and slowly stepped over to the window, staring out of it wordlessly for a second before finally...

“He couldn’t love me.” She whispered. “He couldn’t care less about my species, he never cared about that, not with anyone. But in the end it would be a choice between me and his love for knowledge and science and magic...and in that contest, I couldn’t even begin to compete.” She closed her eyes and rested her head against the glass as tears silently flowed down her cheeks. “It hurts. It hurts so bad, to not be a part of his life in that way...” Slowly, she re-opened her eyes and stared defiantly into the city. “But even if I can’t be with him, I can at least take solace in his happiness. I can still enjoy his smile. I can still support him when he needs somebody to support him, and I know he’ll be there when I need someone in turn.”

She turned around and stared Celestia in the eye again. “I can still make him proud, by standing up against the monsters that caused us all so much pain, despite the length of the odds. Win or lose, Celestia, I’ll still have that.”

Celestia was silent, her expression tinged by a deep sadness as she stared at her enemy.

Her old friend.

“Luna has gone to Tartarus to check on his bindings.” She said solemnly.

Chrysalis didn’t even flinch. “Let her. In the end it doesn’t matter. I have what I want. I did what I had to do.” She turned around stared out the window. “Detain her.”

Celestia didn’t move. She just stared at Chrysalis silently, tears trailing down her cheeks, even as she was struck on the back of the head and thrust into unconsciousness.

**-15 Minutes Later-**

 Gilda stared in horror at the tablet in her hands. “No...” She breathed, jabbing at it furiously with her talon. “NononononoNO!”

“Gilda-!”

“STOW IT, IRON WILL!” She screamed at him, tears flowing down her feathers. “THIS CAN’T BE HAPPENING! NOT AFTER ALL WE’VE DONE! NOT AFTER ALL WE’VE BEEN THROUGH!”

“Iron Will knows this is hard,” He said calmly, “But she’s coming, and we need to be quiet! We’re still alive, and we need to keep it that way!”

Gilda stared at him for a second before finally collapsing to sit on the ground, her beak firmly clamped between her talons as she was wracked with sobs.

Iron Will turned to his equine friend. “Trixie!”

She was staring into the mouth of the cave with dead eyes, unresponsive.

“TRIXIE!”

She jumped, jerkily turning towards him. “Ah-y-yes? W-what is it?”

“The illusion, now!”

She blinked stupidly for a second before finally responding. “A-ah, r-r-right. O-of course.” Her horn sputtered a few times before the air finally shimmered correctly.

Not a moment too soon. Mere seconds after they were hidden, out of the cave came the devil herself.

Princess Luna, Lunar diarch of Equestria. She trotted calmly out of the cave, almost an exact opposite to the black and silver blur she’d been mere minutes ago when entering. Without a care in the world, she spread her wings and took off, flying casually back to Canterlot.

About ten minutes after she left, Iron Will tapped Trixie on the shoulder, drawing her attention. Wordlessly, he gestured across his neck. Trixie silently nodded, dropping the illusion.

For countless minutes, they were silent, dead to the world, before finally, Iron Will breathed heavily and rubbed his snout. “We...we need to re-evaluate our position. We need to make a plan. Gilda, what’s the status on the gates?”

“I don’t know.” The griffon replied, not looking up.

“Can you check?”

“No, Iron Will, I can’t  _check!”_  Gilda hissed, her voice rising as she spoke. “I can’t check at all or even a bit because I’m not getting _anything_  from those damn Gates!  _Do you realize what that means!?”_

“Tell us.” Iron Will asked, silently dreading the answer.

Gilda whipped around, her eyes full of tears. “They’re gone. Every rune, every inscription, every symbol, array or device, they’re all, just, _gone! Years_  of work! Centuries of sacrifice and dedication, erased in  _minutes!_  Completely and utterly!” She clutched her head in her talons and shook it miserably. “We don’t  _have_  a position, we don’t have a place to stand, we don’t have anything  _left._  She wiped it all away. The gates are back at full strength, Scholar is trapped within.”

Her voice dropped to a mere whisper. “It’s over. The Academia failed. The Guards failed, the Scribes failed, even the Guides failed.”

Her eyes screwed shut in pure misery.

“ _We_ failed...”

Once anew, they were silent. They wallowed in their misery and despair, succumbing completely and utterly.

Finally...

“What do we do now?” Trixie whispered.

**“Now? Allow me to tell you.”**

The three screamed in shock. Or at least, they tried to. They were impeded by the green auras of magic restricting their throats and lifting them into the air.

**“Now you’re going to** **_pay_ ** **.”**

They were slowly turned around, brought face-to-face with their captor.

Iron Will’s eyes bulged in shock. “C-Chrysalis!” He managed to choke out.

The once mighty Queen had fallen low. Her chitin was cracked, green ichor flowing out of her from all over. One of her fangs was chipped off and her wings appeared to have been all but shredded. She was limping, due to her front hoof being thoroughly mangled. Even her mane looked like it had lost a fight with a push-mower.

“What the h-hell are y-ACK!” Gilda was cut off as the pressure on her throat tightened.

**“You** ** _failed.”_** Chrysalis growled, her voice inundated with magic.  **“And because of your failure, Scholar will never be free. My** ** _hive_** **will never be free.** ** _Concordia_** **will never be free! Revenge will never be had, Equestria’s crimes will go forever unpunished! ALL BECAUSE OF YOU!”**

“I-it wasn’t our fault!” Trixie protested faintly.

**“I. Don’t. Care.”**  She snarled.  **“It still happened. We still lost. And right now, the only thing on my mind is** ** _bloody vengeance._** **So here’s what’s going to happen. I am going to drain all three of you of every last drop of life you have. Then, I am going to break into Canterlot, and rip out the throats of every Alicorn present,** ** _with my fangs if I have to._** **I will die. I know this. And honestly? At this point?”**

The magic around her died away. With the aura gone, it was plain to see what she was. Not an all-powerful being, unbeatable in every form. Not a god or a deity. Not even a queen.

Just a poor, broken mother.

“I don’t care.” She whispered, tears dripping from her cheeks.

“Hmm, stop me if I’m wrong here, but I believe the appropriate phrase at this time would be something along the lines of 'you have so much left to live for'?”

Chrysalis froze, eyes wide in shock. Her magic cut out, dropping the trio to the ground.

They choked and gagged, trying to regain their breath. When they raised their heads, Chrysalis had turned around, and was staring dumbstruck at an alien being.

Tall and clad in a strange robe. Runes flowed across it like water, shifting and changing, making for a surreal sight. They even lifted off of him and floated around him in a halo of ancient letters. His illuminated glasses hid the majority of his face in the shadows of his hood, but a cocky, self-assured grin was still visible.

Tears continued to flow from Chrysalis’s eyes as she stared at him. “Scholar...” She breathed reverently.

Hearing her, the trio gave him a look of awe before quickly kneeling, heads bowed in respect.

Scholar’s grin turned ever more confident. “I believe that there’s a second phrase I should say at this moment.”

His glasses glinted eagerly in the moonlight.

“Did ya miss me?”

**To Be Continued...**


	5. Picking up the Pieces

Scholar held the grin for a few more minutes before dropping it and grimacing. “Oh man, please tell me that I haven’t turned into some sort of deity over the years for you guys! It was funny the first time, but now it’s just old!”

The trio’s eyes widened in panic as they scrambled to their feet. “N-no!” Iron Will protested. “I-it’s not like that!”

“Yeah!” Gilda added. “It’s just a sign of respect! Come on, it’s not like we’re dweebs or anything!”

“Trixie agrees!” The unicorn added. “Considering how you needed help breaking out, then it is highly unlikely that you are that powerful!”

The Rune Keeper hummed and cupped his chin. “I dunno, I’m still not convinced... what say you, Chrissy? Are they on the up and up?”

The queen didn’t respond. She just stood there, staring at him silently.

Scholar’s smile dropped. “Uh, Chrysalis? This is the part where you help me tease these guys and tell me not to call you Chrissy. Are you alright?”

Chrysalis didn’t respond. She merely began to sway on her hooves.

“Chrysalis?”

Her only response was to tilt to her side and collapse.

“CHRYSALIS!” Scholar cried in panic as he dashed to her side. He dropped to his knees and gently cradled her head. “Nononono, come on Chrysalis, don’t do this to me. Not here, not now, not after so long!” He whipped his head up and glared at the trio. “Hey, you claim to be Alumni? Time for a final exam to prove it! I need something to engrave with, about a ton of flesh, preferably fresh...and something to eat, I haven’t had a proper meal in at least two millennia and I’m  hemorrhaging energy to stay conscious.”

The trio were petrified by the sudden requests. Scholar clapped his hands, trying to bring them to their senses. “Today, people! And before you try and say something along the lines of her almost killing you, it’s safe to say that she wasn’t in what I’d call her right mind. NOW **MOVE!”** The last word was punctuated with a load of magic that sent Iron Will and Trixie scrambling into the nearby forest while Gilda quickly knelt down next to him.

“My gauntlets have lightning generators in them, it’s what I carve with. What do you need?” She demanded.

“Uh, alright alright, let’s see... do you have anything to write with?” Scholar held his hand out.

The griffon quickly dropped her tablet into the waiting palm. Scholar blinked in surprise and looked it over. “Oh, fancy! Things have progressed well since I was away! Now then...” He tapped the blank face, activating the runes, and quickly rearranged the glyphs displayed until they formed a Rune Array. He turned it around and showed it to her. “I need you to carve this on a ten-to-one scale in the rock, a flat surface!”

Gilda quickly scanned it before raising her eyebrows. “A transmutation circle? Alright, that explains the flesh, but what about that series in the medial border?”

Scholar smiled appreciatively. “Smart girl. Those ones are for an arcane pulse. The harmony clogging the air is choking Chrysalis, keeping her from magically breathing. With this, I ought to be able to ward her against it and let her finally get back to full strength. It’s the only reason she’s like this.” He smiled down at the unconscious changeling.

“After all,” he said softly. “We’ve been through worse, haven’t we Chrysalis? Remember that iron quill pack in Shadowridge Cliffs? I took one through the gut and you lost the same leg you went and broke, but you still crushed the last one in a rockslide. Afterwards we laughed and laughed while Serpense berated us for making him waste so much venom healing us. Remember that?” Scholar’s voice was choked with tears as he held his old friend in his arms.

A talon on his shoulder made him look up. Gilda was staring at him solemnly. “She’ll live,” She whispered, “I know you’re not a god, but you  _are_  the best. If anyone can save her, it’s you.”

Scholar was silent for a moment before thrusting the tablet into her claws. “Engrave it. Now.” He whispered.

Gilda nodded and hurried over to a flat shelf of rock, activating her gauntlets and setting into carving it up.

Scholar brushed Chrysalis’s face quietly. “Hang in there, bug girl, hang in there.”

**-Ten Minutes Later-**

 Trixie galloped back up to the entrance of Tartarus, a mass of leaves, roots and berries floating behind her. She ran past where Gilda was working, stopping next to Scholar and Chrysalis. She floated the pile to lay next to him. “Trixie knows that this doesn’t seem edible-”

“Mandragora root, athelas, cattails, and a few others. All edible, all nutritious,” Scholar took a handful of plants and shoved them in his mouth. He grimaced as he chewed and swallowed. “They all taste like ass. But at least I can focus more on keeping her alive.”

Trixie was quiet as she watched Chrysalis’ body. Finally...

“Can you do it?” She whispered. Scholar cocked an eyebrow at her. She met his eyes with her own, filled with sadness. “Will we finally be free?” Her voice wavered slightly.

Scholar’s eyes softened. He raised a hand and rested it on her head. “I don’t know,” He whispered. “I don’t know, but I’m damn well going to try. And if we lose...” He smiled calmly. “Then we go down the way we were meant to: with a bang big enough to swallow Celestia whole.”

Trixie smiled sadly and nodded in agreement.

Suddenly, there was a large amount of crashing from the woods. In a flash, Scholar had an arm up with several rings of runes swirling viciously around it. Trixie jerked back in shock. His expression had changed from relaxed to stone cold in moments.

Luckily, his aggression was unwarranted. It was only Iron Will. The minotaur wasn’t alone. Behind him, he was dragging-

“The hell is  _that!?”_  Scholar asked in shock.

Gilda glanced over her shoulder and grunted. “A manticore. Yeah, we know, we read the old records. Evolution has all but fucked them over, and the harmony in the air hasn’t helped a bit, but it’s all we got,” She slashed her claw through the stone a final time. “By the way, I’m done.”

The light in Scholar’s lenses twitched like an eyelid as he stared at the large corpse. “That’s supposed to be a manticore...for the love of- the _tail_  doesn’t even look right!”

Iron Will panted heavily as he hauled it over to the engraved Array. “Maybe,” he huffed. “But it’s ferocity hasn’t been lost over the years, Iron Will can testify to that.”

Scholar was silent for a second before bringing his hand up and rubbing his face tiredly. “Damn it, Celestia, what have you done?” He whispered. He breathed heavily and shook his head. “This is wrong, this is all so wrong.”

The sound of breathing drew his eyes downwards. Scholar stared silently at Chrysalis’s mutilated head for a moment. He lightly ran his hand through her mane.

His gaze shifted. Gone was the despair and sorrow. All that was left was steel. “But I’m going to make things right.” He snapped his eyes to Trixie. “Help me move her.”

Trixie nodded and lit her horn up. Chrysalis was engulfed in the aura and lifted from Scholar’s lap and deposited in the Array, right next to the manticore.

Scholar stood up and walked over to the Array. He examined the carved circle for a second, eyes flitting over the glyphs and symbols before finally nodding. “Quality work.”

Gilda chuckled and rubbed the back of her head. “Thanks. So, you gonna heal her?”

Scholar cracked his knuckles decisively. “Without a doubt.” He knelt down next to the array and rubbed his hands in preparation, his runes floating down to interact with the ones in the stone. “Alright, I’ll convert the manticore flesh to chitin and ichor, which I’ll then direct to replace everything that’s missing, unless it’s  _supposed_  to be missing of course. At the same time, I’ll be casting a ward on her so that any and all harmony is repelled from her so that she can absorb magic from the air cleanly.” He glanced over the shoulder. “The ward will extend to the rest of you as well.”

The trio’s jaws dropped. “W-what?” Trixie stuttered.

“You’re serious?” Gilda demanded.

Scholar stood up and turned around to face them. He tilted his head so that all could be seen in his hood were his glasses. “That depends. Are you? Once I cast this ward, it will be permanent, feeding passively off your lifeforce, just enough to remain active. You’ll be more  powerful than  you have ever been in your entire lives. But in return, you’ll have decided your fate. So I ask you: are you serious about this? Are you willing to give your lives entirely to the Academia Arcana? To devote yourself to the propagation and protection of knowledge, in all it’s forms? Are you willing to  pledge yourselves to Concordia, to stand for the unity, liberty and equality of all sentient beings, and to wage war against all threats to these rights? Are you willing to stand by me until Death himself comes to collect, and even then?”

The trio glanced between each other. Finally...

They kneeled once more, heads bowed and hands, hooves and claws on their amulets, which were shining brighter than ever. They then spoke as one.

“For the Academia, we offer our talents. For Concordia, we offer our souls. We pledge ourselves until the final star fades and the last light dies.”

Scholar was silent for a moment before the light in his eyes dimmed. He was smiling kindly, benevolently. “Thank you,” He said softly. “For all that you’ve done, and for all that you will do. Thank you.”

He turned around and spread his arms. “Let’s get this party started,” A multitude of runes flew off of him, encircling the array of stone both on the ground and parallel in the air. “First transmutation in millennia,” he mused idly. “Let’s do it with gusto and tradition.”

He clapped his hands together decisively and then slapped his palms against the stone.

The array light up like a spotlight, magic flowing out of every carved nook and cranny. Lightning began to dance and spark, engulfing the two bodies entirely. The rune circles in the air began to spin, faster and faster and faster, blurring into rings of light and energy. Then, the rings contracted into dots of light hovering above the Array. The light and noise died down. All became silent and still...

All at once, the runes  _exploded_  outwards, a wave of pure, unadulterated energy sweeping over the surroundings.

Once more, all was silent.

Scholar was panting, hands on his knees as he tried to regain his breath. He smiled as he observed the results of his work. About half the manticore corpse was missing, and in return, Chrysalis had been restored once anew, her chitin repaired and ichor replenished entirely. She was breathing evenly.

“Well,” He chuckled happily. “I’d say that worked perfectly! Not bad for an old-timer, huh guys?” No response. “Uh, guys?” He turned around. “Everything alright back there?”

The trio was...dumbstruck. They weren’t panting, or gasping. Just...staring into the air, breathing a bit heavily.

“Guys?”

“Holy...shit...” Gilda breathed.

“Th-this is...” Trixie said quietly.

“I-Iron Will can’t...” The minotaur stammered.

Scholar smiled indulgently. “First taste of fresh, magic-filled air not what you were expecting?”

Trixie shook her head slowly. “N-not even a bit.”

Iron Will clenched and unclenched his fists, staring at them in disbelief. “T-this feeling, it’s...”

Gilda grinned as lightning began to flow over her. “This. Is. AWESOME!” She cried, electricity blasting off of her and high into the air.

“Trixie agrees entirely!” The unicorn concurred. Light flowed out of her horn and body, whipping around her in a frenzy. “So free, so exhilarating! Trixie can  _feel_  the energy flowing into her!”

Iron Will laughed exuberantly.“Iron Will has never felt so alive! So...powerful!”

He stomped his hoof into the ground. The result was the earth around him being thoroughly rocked with tremors.

Scholar chuckled indulgently. “Good to hear it and just you wait! This is just the tip of the iceberg. You three are going to be a lot stronger if I have anything to say about it. For now though,” He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “Let’s wake the beloved queen up, hmm?”

Trixie blinked, surprised at being broken out of her magic-induced daze. “Huh? Uh, right, right. She’s repaired, right? Why isn’t she awake?”

“Ah, well, that’s the thing,” Scholar stepped over the border of the Array and knelt by Chrysalis. “Her body is good, no doubt about that, but her mind is still in a stupor. For her to wake up,” he gently placed his hand under her head and lifted it up. “Her system is going to need a shock.”

Slowly, gently, he leaned, close, till he and Chrysalis were separated by mere inches. Then...

SLAP!

He struck her straight across her face.

Chrysalis’s eyes snapped open. They darted around for a second before focusing on Scholar’s face.

He grinned gently at her. “I think I’ll ask again: did ya miss me?”

SMACK!

“GAH!”

Her response was to slam her hoof into his face.

Scholar reeled back, clutching his nose. “OUCH! By noze! I thig you broge by noze!”

“I damn well hope I did you arrogant ass!” Chrysalis snarled, scrambling to her hooves. “All this time, all these years, and the first thing you do when you get out is pretend to still be imprisoned!”

THWACK!

“OW!”

“Say some stupid line!”

SMACK!

“ACK!”

“And then  _slap me awake!?”_

SLAP!

“YEOWCH! What did you expect me to do!?  _Kiss_  you!?”

“YES!” Chrysalis reared her hoof back again.

Scholar screwed his eyes, ready for another blow...and was surprised when he felt a weight collide with his chest.

He looked down and stared as Chrysalis clung to his person, shaking slightly as she sobbed into his robes. “I missed you so much...” She whispered.

Scholar’s eyes softened. He brought his arms around and hugged her, lightly brushing her mane. “There there,” He mumbled, “It’s alright, it’s alright. I’m fine, you’re fine, everything’s fine.”

The trio was silent as they watched the two old friends re-unite after so long.

**-Five Minutes Later-**

 It took about five minutes for Chrysalis to calm down enough to finally be coherent.

The group was sitting around a fire, waiting as the remnants of the manticore were cooked.

“Sure as hell hope that the taste hasn’t changed.” Scholar muttered as he worked on the spit. Finally, he sat back down again and gazed around at the group. “Alright then! There’s a lot that needs to be said! Where do we start?”

“How about your little disappearing act from Tartarus?” Chrysalis asked. She was a lot better than she had been, sitting regally, not even a trace of her previous bad health.

“Yeah, she’s right!” Gilda exclaimed. “I saw the runes! Right before everything got wiped, you went back into Tartarus! I thought that the royal bitch re-did the seals on the gate, or heck, caught you on the way out!”

Scholar chuckled cheekily. “Now see, that’s the thing: she did!”

Apparently dropped jaws were in style.

“Wh- _how!?”_ Gilda demanded.

Chrysalis let a sly grin play across her muzzle. “You ran circles around her, didn’t you?”

Scholar gasped and whipped a hand to his mouth. “Madam! I am offended by these slanderous accusations!” He smirked deviously at her. “I would never be caught dead doing anything less than a complicated dance routine.”

“Oh, Trixie  _has_  to hear this!” the unicorn squealed.

Scholar chuckled again. “Alright, alright, settle down. Now, here’s what happened...”

**-Ten Minutes before Luna Exits Tartarus-**

 Scholar hissed in pain as light shined through the gates of Tartarus as they opened for the first time in millennia. “Sunnova- so this is what they mean when they say a sight for sore eyes.”

He walked out of the crack in the doors, gazing around nostalgically. “Still though, fifty minutes. I gotta say, I impressed even myself!” he turned around and gazed up at the doors to his prison appreciatively. “Especially considering the  _quality_ of this place. So many wards...” He pointed out a section of the gates with his finger. “Like that one! Triple Phoenixian Plasma Seal. Not bad...oh, and combined with that Frost Giant’s Breath Matrix... _nasty._  Impressive, but  _nasty.”_

He glanced to the side. “At a glance, I’d say it was your work, eh Luna?”

The dark Alicorn stared at her old foe. “How could thou tell?”

“It’s in your nature.” Scholar said as he turned around to face her. “Celestia is adept at the whole ‘wrath of god’ thing, and Cadance tries to act sweet and caring while silently slipping a blade between your ribs, but you? Ah, you’re  _vindictive!_  You always made sure that people suffered for crossing you, you were a mistress of  _vengeance._ ” His eyes and tone lost their vigor, switching to ice. “I never thought I’d see the day you unjustly turned it on me.”

“Hmph.” Luna snorted. “We remember that thou did not resist thine arrest.”

“Of course not,” Scholar said. “How could I? Doing so would have meant having to injure innocent soldiers that you had convinced of my ‘guilt’. Thank you, not my cup of tea.”

“It was a necessary measure,” Luna said haughtily. “Anything less and escape would have been foals-play for you.”

Scholar chuckled and shook his head. “Ha, foals-play instead of child’s play. You’ve made your own little horse-themed vocabulary. Hilarious. Next you’ll tell me you’re calling the world Equus instead of Mundus.”

Luna didn’t respond, merely staring at him.

Scholar’s laughter abruptly cut off. He stared her dead in the eye, his glasses glowing with hellfire. “This is where you interrupt me and tell me that I’m being ridiculous.” If his voice was ice before, not it withheld hell’s fury.

The lunar princess remained unflinching. “‘Tis our world, we shall name it as we see fit.”

“And by ours, I assume you’re not talking about you and your sister but the rest of the equines.”

“We made this world safe for our kind. There is no fault in our actions.”

Luna and Scholar stared each other down, neither giving ground.

Finally... “I’m walking out of here,” Scholar said calmly, “And I’m going to burn your precious little world down and reduce it to  _ashes.”_

Luna’s eyes and horn lit up. “Over our dead body.”

Scholar chuckled morosely. “Luna, Luna, Luna. What on  _Mundus_  makes you think you can make me stay?” he spread his arms out wide, runes lifting off his robe and swirling around him, “I’ve been busy! I control every  _inch_  of this hole!”

Luna smirked at him. “For all the good that it does you. Does thou believe us to be fools? At it’s core, Tartarus was designed to hold but a single prisoner: you. Any attempts to turn it against us shall fail most spectacularly.”

Scholar sighed and shook his head. “Ah Luna. You truly  _haven’t_ changed. So focused on the big picture that the details  _completely_  elude you. You always miss the most crucial points of all.”

Luna frowned.  _‘What could he_ possibly-?”

“WOOF!”

Luna’s train of thought was derailed by several metrics tons of fur, fangs and fury tackling her from behind.

When she was finally able to re-focus her eyes, she was staring into the snarling jaws of three  _very_  angry dog heads. She tried to access her magic to blast the rancid mutt off of her, but realized with panic that she couldn’t even begin to manipulate her inner energy. She struggled for a moment beneath Cerberus’s paws before finally sighing in resignation and letting her head hit the stone floor. “Damnation...” She muttered.

Suddenly, the right head stopped growling and instead began panting and whining happily. Scholar cooed as he scratched behind it’s ears. “There you go, good boy, good boy. Good hellhound, best friend!” He smirked down at Luna. “See, it’s better to have the guard dog in charge of your nemesis  _like_  you instead of resent you for lining his collars with mind-control runes.”

Luna snorted derisively and turned her head away from him. “So what shalt thou do now?” She inquired. “Kill us?”

Scholar narrowed his eyes at her viciously. “As much as I’d  _love_  to gut you and use your intestines as book-lining, I can’t. Your sister saw to that when she warded both herself and you  with the mother of all dead man’s switches.”

Luna chuckled morosely. “Our sister might have made an error in placing thine pet as a guard, but her plan to harness the sun and the moon to our wills was quite ingenious.”

“It was madness.” Scholar stated solemnly.

Luna raised an eyebrow at him. “We art alive, are we not?”

Scholar shook his head in disgust. “Enough of this. Now then, here’s the plan: I’m going to wipe your mind of all of this, walk out of here, assess my position, and then, as I said,  _burn_  everything _to the ground.”_

Luna’s glare became hostile. “Thou art free to try, but though we have had little reason to utilize them over the years, our mental shields art as strong as mythril. Weakened as thou art, thou shall not be able to intrude upon the sanctity of our psyche.”

“Maybe,” Scholar said. “But you forget the problem with most mental shields...”

He leaned in until their faces were separated by less than a foot. “Mental shields become weakened.” He leaned in closer, his voice growing softer, more tender, “If the defender is feeling,” Closer still, “Very strong,”

Less than a foot separated the two. “ _Emotions.”_ He breathed.

They stared at each other for a second, before finally...

Luna spit in his face.

Scholar groaned and stood up, wiping the saliva off his glasses.

“Save thyself the effort, mongrel,” Luna snarled. “We were once colleagues, nothing more. The only one who ever felt such emotions towards you was your pet mag-GRK!”

Luna was cut off by Scholar’s hand clamping over her muzzle.

Over the course of their discussion, Scholar’s emotions had run the gamut from frigid to barely restraining unholy rage.

At this moment, the Rune Keeper had reached a brand new level of quiet fury. He did not say a word, his face did not show his anger.

His clothes said it all.

Where before the runes had flowed like water, now they clashed and span and roared, a torrent of sharp, harsh letters that swirled around him in an aura of pure wrath. And if his glasses had shown hellfire before, they now reflected the eyes of the devil himself.

“Luna,” He intoned quietly, his voice promising bloodshed. “I believe your memory is faulty. Let me remind you: I am the person who reduced the bandit fortress on Switchblade Mountain to rubble and stuck every rogue and villain in that place on pikes,  _by myself,_ because one of their flunkies had the  _gall to_  try to seduce Cadance and ended up making her cry. I am the guy who would destroy a city to _devastate_  any fool unlucky enough to willingly harm those I consider to be friends. Now, I’d like you to remember something else: my skills. My knowledge, my powers, my mind. My capabilities. I want you to remember, so that you realize that the fact that I can’t kill you right now? At this moment, it’s not a blessing,” He pressed his forehead to hers, forcing her to stare into his eyes.

**_“It’s a curse.”_**  

Luna was shivering in fear, staring into his unyielding eyes. She waited, dreading the punishment for her transgressions.

Finally...

Scholar released her snout and stood up, stepping back from her prone body.

Luna blinked in surprise for a moment before smirking victoriously. “HA! Thou hast grown soft over the course of thine imprisonment. Thou hast become a cow-!”

It was at that moment that Cerberus chose to lick her.

Luna’s mind froze, trying to process what had just happened.

When her vision was engulfed by Scholar’s glowing eyes, she realized her mistake.

_‘Oh_ buck _u-!’_

And then everything went blank.

**-o-**

Luna blinked, trying to clear the haze from her mind.  _‘W-what were we doing?’_

A loud snore drew her attention. She turned and sighed in exasperation as she saw Cerberus snoring. “Lazy mutt,” she muttered as she trotted past him. “This entire endeavor is most assuredly the fault of thine negligence.”

“Now let us see...” She lit her horn up and began examining the gates. She swore almost immediately. “Damnation! We cannot  _believe_  this! So many vandalisations! And the original wards have not even been properly maintained! Urgh, We shall be having  _words_  with Tia on this matter. But for now...”

Her horn lit up like a supernova. Her eyes became twin stars. Power shone out of her entire being, illuminating the cave. Light, energy at it’s purest. Had any other mortal creature been present, they would have most assuredly been incinerated.

When the light finally died down, the gates of Tartarus looked like they had been white-washed. Runes and inscriptions stood out clearly against the stone, and any and all additions had been burned away. Tartarus had been restored to it’s former glory.

And through it all, Cerberus had continued to slumber.

Luna glared at the hound for a second before shaking her head dismissively. “Indolent mongrel. When we return to Canterlot, we shall discuss with Tia the option of replacing you with a particularly half-witted dragon.”

With those parting words, she casually trotted out of the cave, intent on returning to Canterlot before the reception began.

A few minutes after Luna had left, Cerberus’s eyes snapped open, glaring at where she had left. Then, the middle head opened his mouth...

SPLAT!

And spat out a very wet and sticky Scholar.

“EURGH!” He cried, standing up and shaking his body, trying to dislodge the saliva. “Grooooss! I’m covered in hellhound slobber! I swear, Luna, you’re not only going to pay for that insult, you’re going to pay for my dry-cleaning!”

Cerberus’s heads whined pitifully.

Scholar wheeled around and glared at them. “Oh, I’m  _so_  sorry I taste dusty! But it just so happens I haven’t had the time to go to the damn spa lately! Or  _anywhere_  for that matter! Be grateful I rigged your collars so that Luna didn’t realize anything was wrong on your end!” He stopped ranting for a second, closed his eyes, and steadied his breathing. “Alright, alright. Settle down Scholar, you managed to dodge Luna, you’re safe, now clean yourself up.” Scholar spread his arms out, concentrated for a second, then brought his hands together. The resulting wave of magic blasted all of the slimy liquid right off of him.

The Rune Keeper examined himself triumphantly. “Good as new!”

SLURP!

Then Cerberus licked him from head to toe.

Scholar was paralyzed for a minute before glaring flatly at the hound. “Seriously?”

Cerberus’s only response was to pant and wag his tail.

Scholar only retained his glare for a minute before sighing and smiling. “I can’t stay mad at you! C’mere!” He began scratching Cerberus’s heads, much to the dog’s pleasure. “Who’s a good boy? Who’s a good boy?”

“WOOF!”

Scholar smiled for a second before becoming serious and stepping back. Cerberus watched him silently. “Alright boy, here’s what I need you to do. I want you to stay here and keep up appearances, in case the Alicorns come calling. Don’t attack them, just let them think that everything is ship-shape. When it’s safe I’ll send for you, but till then...”

Cerberus nodded his heads and pointed towards the exit with his paw.

Scholar smiled again. “Smart dog. Until then.” And with that, he turned around and walked out of the cave.

Cerberus laid down on the floor, a doggy smile on his lips as he went back to sleep.

Scholar kept a sharp eye out as he moved through the tunnel. “Alright, there are sure to be traps, but seeing as this is the way  _out,_  they can’t be too tough.”

Rounding the corner, he was forced to stop and stare at the sight before him.

“Well well well,” He mused. “Non-euclidean architecture. My old nemesis... we meet again!”

**“ROOOOOOOAR!”**

“Very  _hungry_  non-euclidean architecture!”

**-Present-**

 “In the end, my escape involved three carnivorous staircases, a pack of roaming doorknobs, two rolling boulders of death, a pop quiz, and a dead mouse named Mr. Squeakers.”

Scholar’s colleagues stared at him in disbelief.

“In fact!” He exclaimed, “I think I still have him on me! Let me just get...him...” He trailed off as he dug through his robes. He quickly patted himself down before falling silent.

“Correction,” He finally stated. “Three carnivorous staircases, a pack of roaming doorknobs, two rolling boulders of death, a pop quiz, and an  _un-_ dead mouse named Mr. Squeakers.”

The group was...dumbstruck.

Finally...

“So basically an uneventful escape?” Chrysalis asked casually.

“Basically, yeah.”

Gilda felt her eye twitch. “You’re insane.” She stated.

Scholar nodded. “Maybe, maybe, but you’re the ones who willingly pledged your lives to me.”

The trio were silent for a second before sighing despondently.

“He’s right.”

“Good point.”

“Damn it, we did  _not_ think this through.”

Scholar smirked at them. “That’s what they all say. So!” He clapped his hands. “Now it’s your turns! Introduce yourselves, names and motivations, the lot of you!”

The three blinked in surprise. “Wait,” Trixie asked. “Names Trixie can accept, but what do you mean motivations?”

Scholar’s mood suddenly flipped to serious. He stared the trio dead in the eyes one after another. “You willingly joined a war against who I am assuming to be the three most powerful beings currently conscious at this time and the nation that they have no doubt built over the course of the past two millennia. None of you appear to be idiots, so you no doubt each have a damn good reason for doing so. Tell me, friends...”

His glasses glinted in the firelight.

“How has the world wronged you?”

**To Be Continued...**


	6. Old Wounds, Old Scars

For the longest time, the allies were silent, staring silently at each other,  _daring_  someone to speak first.

After what felt like an eternity, Gilda sighed despondently. “My name is Gilda Behertz. And...before I start, there’s something you should know. There’s no easy way to say this...”

She took a deep breath before exhaling heavily. “Ponies, buffalo, cattle, donkeys, horses, sheep, mules, goats, zebras, dragons, minotaurs, diamond dogs, griffons, and a few others.” She stated solemnly.

Scholar’s eyes shot wide, his entire being burning with an unspoken fury. “That list does  _not_   imply what I think it does.” He whispered.

The griffon shook her head sadly. “The only sapient species in Mundus.”

The ground surrounding Scholar cracked as the runes around him whipped into a frenzy.

Gilda closed her eyes.  _‘And now for the kicker.’_  “Of them, only the horses and griffons have actual, sovereign states.”

Fragments of earth started to unconsciously orbit around Scholar as he shook in rage.

Gilda’s talons dug sharply into her arms. “If you can even  _call_  Eagleland ‘sovereign’.”

The magic around him cut out abruptly as he stared at her. “Explain.” He quietly demanded.

She looked at him sadly for a moment before staring into the fire. “Eagleland was founded about a millenia ago, plus a few centuries. The constitution was written by King Arthur Peregrine...”

“And Princess Celestia, I’m guessing.” Scholar said in a dead voice.

Gilda nodded silently. “It wasn’t obvious at the time...but things went downhill from there. For starters, I can easily count how many families in the House of Lords are of Griffon descent, and the House of Commons?” She sneered angrily. “I  _can’t_  count how many laws have been passed to make it less than a formality.”

Scholar was silent for a moment before finally... “What about the royal family?”

Gilda snorted. “Oh sure, they live in Buckingjay Palace, but it doesn’t matter. One of the stipulations of the constitution is that the Captain of the Guard  _must_  be a pony. ‘To promote friendship and harmony’.” She sang mockingly before spitting. “Peh! Friendship my furry ass. The Queen might make some appearances, but at the end of the day, everyone knows that all the orders come from the Tower of Loondon.” She shivered in fear. “Turns out that when Celestia’s not watching, the ponies take it as a sign to stop acting all cute and cuddly. Criminals commit suicide rather than go there. The guards slip them the blades. Out of  _pity._ ”

Once anew there was silence. Then, Gilda spoke again, this time with steel in her voice. “Over the years following your imprisonment, Celestia went on a witch-hunt, sealing or destroying all traces of Concordia and the Academia. But she didn’t get it all. Records, transcripts, closely guarded, hidden away. But they  _exist._  I managed to read a few. I...I learned how things used to be. About our pride...” Slowly, Gilda’s voice softened. As she let her eyes trail the smoke ascending into the heavens, she sounded downright reverent. “I learned of the _Stormknights.”_  She breathed.

Scholar’s mood flipped, going from tense to relaxed, his eyes becoming soft.

“I read so much about them,” Gilda whispered. “About how they ruled the skies, the lords of the clouds. Even the dragons didn’t dare to cross them. I read about their code of honor, how they swore to uphold justice. I learned about their bases, the Pillars of Typhon, storms that bridged the heavens and earth, each  _dwarfing_  Cloudsdale... I learned of the cyclopes. How they manipulated the lightning with their bare hands, forging it into weapons and armor for the Knights to use. And I learned of their leaders...”

“The Turbine Brothers,” Scholar said quietly. His eyes were distant, lost in the annals of history. “Three of them. Lightning, the youngest, who was the swiftest of them all, so fast he could catch the wind and hold it in his hands. Thunder, the strongest, who carried with him a mighty hammer with which he shaped the wind to his liking, each blow shaking the world. And last, but oh so far from least, Thunderbolt, the eldest. He held the magic, and whenever he inspected Thunder’s work, it would be imbued with the power of the heavens themselves. Together, they created lightning bolts, bringing into existence tempest after tempest, gale after gale.”

Scholar sighed nostalgically. “People called them The Storm Smiths,” He smiled sadly. “I just called them friends.”

Gilda stared at him quietly for a few moments before finally spreading her talons, letting the lightning dance between her gauntlet’s fingers. “I want it back,” She whispered. “Our honor, the power, the glory, the Stormknights, all of it. I want it  _all_  back.” She then narrowed her eyes, clenching her gauntlet into a fist and engulfing the entire thing in energy. “But most of all?” She growled. “I want Celestia’s neck under my paws.”

“And Trixie will gladly help with that endeavor.” The unicorn intoned darkly.

Scholar watched her for a moment before posing his question. “Why would you help? You’re a pony, one of those for whom this ‘perfect world’ was intended.”

Trixie let out a bark of laughter. “Perfect!? Hardly. Every day for those wretches, it’s get up, go to work, laugh with your neighbors, love your family, go to sleep content. Day after day after day, the same old song and dance, sometimes literally! Before The Great and Powerful Trixie Lulamoon accepted the title of Guard, she was an entertainer, a performer. The masses cheered and screamed for the most  _paltry_  of illusions, awed by parlor tricks and mundane performances.”

She scowled angrily. “Yes, we live safe, happy lives, but at the cost of  _stagnation._  The world is made of plastic with little to no true, free beauty. What of our art, hm? Where are the novels that tell of the lives of the exploits of the brave warriors, where are the portraits of the most beautiful clouds? What of the  _magic?”_  Trixie sighed in despair. “So many ancient, beautiful practices. To summon beings of the astral plane, to manipulate the elements at their roots...” An eager grin played across her muzzle. “To converse with the  _dead.”_

Scholar’s curiosity compelled him to lean forwards. “Sounds like you want that most of all, hm?”

Trixie chuckled in response. “Indeed, Trixie does. Should Trixie one day get the chance, Trixie would love nothing more than to be granted an audience with Solum Nox himself.”

Scholar blinked in shock. “The Wight Lord? What business do you have with him?”

Trixie sighed yearningly as she gazed up at the stars. “The wraiths were amalgamations of departed souls, each composed of a few hundred spirits at a time. But Solum? As a wight, he commanded  _thousands._  Surely, amongst all these departed lives, there must be a few masters of the old ways, correct?” She inquired hopefully.

Scholar shrugged indifferently. “Of course. It was common practice to hold a contract with one of the undead back in the day. It guaranteed the ability to fight after we could no longer fight  _and_ provided you with a fool-proof retirement plan. Solum alone must have a few hundred ancient masters and researchers and such.”

Trixie nodded decisively. “Then Trixie shall bargain with Solum Nox to attain an audience with the souls she seeks! Trixie realizes it will be difficult, she has read the old manuscripts. She knows that Solum has a history of being difficult,”

_“Cough!Greedysackofshit!Cough!”_ Chrysalis nonchalantly added.

“But Trixie must try!” She continued unimpeded. “To discover what was once lost, to make it new and display it before the world,  _that_ is Trixie’s dream, her goal!”

Scholar chuckled at her enthusiasm. “And it’s an admirable one. When we get Solum out of whatever hole he was dropped into, I’ll call in as much debt from him as I can to help.” He turned his head to look at Iron Will. “And all that’s left is you.”

Iron Will was silent as he stared into the fire. The entire time, he had not spoken a single word. His face was solemn, morose, miserable. When he finally spoke, it was with a voice filled with a deep anguish. “After the Alicorns sealed Chief Minos into stone, they sank Thammenipoli into the earth, deeper than any of our mines could ever reach. After that... they stole our power. We...couldn’t interact with the earth anymore. We couldn’t navigate our mines, couldn’t dig. Without the guiding hand of the minotaurs, the Earth Clans dissolved. Some, like the dwarves and the gnomes were sealed. The diamond dogs fell into separate packs and did what they had to do to survive, digging aimlessly where they can. But the minotaurs...”

He squeezed his eyes shut, tears silently trailing down his face. “The dogs have their packs, the buffalo have their herds, the zebras have their tribes. We... have  _nothing._  Iron Will’s people aren’t nomadic, that would mean they stay together. Nomads have their culture, they have each other. The minotaur are scattered across the world, each fending for themselves. We don’t  _have_  a culture, we don’t  _have_  a past. The best we can do is carve our own place in the world. At worst...we survive in poverty.”

Iron Will re-opened his eyes. Though still tear-stained, they burned with the kind of fire only seen in the deepest fissures of the earth. “Iron Will  _will_  see the Buried City return to it’s former glory. he  _will_  see Minos freed, and his people re-united. Iron Will will return his people to their old ways of life, and to the earth from which they came. Iron Will swears it.”

Scholar was silent as he stared at them all. Evaluating them. Analyzing them. Picking apart their very lives. Their souls.

Finally, he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and reopened them, gazing upon the trio anew. The three couldn’t help but freeze. Something about the mood had changed. The very  _air_  was electrified, the moment filled with energy.

When he at last spoke, Scholar’s voice was...old. Filled with wisdom and experience. “Three warriors sit before me,” He turned his sight upon Gilda, who sat up straighter. “One who seeks to return her race to their former glory,” Next was Trixie, who swallowed heavily. “One who seeks to revive the lost arts,” And finally Iron Will, who unflinchingly returned his stare. “And one who seeks to give his people a home.”

Another moment of silence, he spoke anew.

“As of this moment, you are no longer Alumni of the Academia Arcana.”

For the trio, it felt as if hell had simultaneously broken loose and frozen over.

However, before they could react in any way, Scholar spoke again. “By the power vested in me as Professor Magnus, I name the three of you Magisters of the Academia Arcana.” His mood flipped again as he smiled widely at them. “Congratulations!”

There was a dumbstruck silence as the trio gaped at the Rune Keeper, broken only by Chrysalis laughing at the looks on their faces.

Gilda felt her eye twitch. “Practically every day is going to be like this, isn’t it?”

Scholar chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. “Basically.”

Chrysalis cackled maniacally. “Welcome to hell! HAHAHA!”

Trixie growled under her breath. “The Annoyed and Pissed Off Trixie would like to know if her friends would be interested in joining her in planning a murder.”

Iron Will groaned and rubbed his snout. “Iron Will fears that it may be too late for that.”

“Oh, it is  _never_  too late for a cold-blooded assassination.” Gilda snarled.

Chrysalis smirked at Scholar. “Ten seconds after being promoted and they’re already plotting your demise.”

He beamed back at her. “I know, right? They’re naturals! Well!” Scholar clapped his hands and stood up. “Grab your manticore meat and get ready to move, it’s time to get down to business.”

The group blinked in surprise before scrambling to their hooves and paws. Scholar, Gilda, Iron Will and Chrysalis each tore a chunk out of the cooking corpse while Trixie did her best to hide how green she was.

Gilda raised an eyebrow at Scholar as she munched on the cooked remains. “So, what’s the plan oh wise one?”

Scholar swallowed the mouthful of meat he had and responded. “Well, first off, Chrysalis, you good to teleport?”

The Changeling Queen nodded. “Absolutely. Thanks to your ward, I’m back to full strength.”

Scholar nodded decisively. “Good. Then get us back to your hive, pronto. We need to hurry if we want to make it to Canterlot before Celestia and Luna decide it’s time for daybreak.”

The group’s jaws dropped once again.

“Wh-we just got the hell out of there! Why do we need to go back!?” Gilda demanded.

Chrysalis frowned. “It’s the Lexicon, isn’t it?”

Scholar nodded solemnly. “Unfortunately.”

Trixie whipped her head between the two before raising her hoof. “Wait, Trixie is confused. What is the Lexicon?”

“The Lexicon De Arcana. My grimoire, and the single most powerful and extensive collection of magical knowledge this side of the astral plane. I wrote, enchanted and warded the damn thing myself so that only I can use it, and I need it to get back to full power.”

Iron Will frowned as a thought crossed his mind. “Wait, if it’s that important to you, then wouldn’t Celestia have destroyed it or hidden it far far away?”

Scholar nodded at the minotaur. “Saying ‘destroy’ instead of ‘burn’ because I obviously would have warded against it, smart bull. And also, she  _could_  have destroyed it, but that would have  involved taking out half the continent in a blast of pure energy.”

Gilda’s jaw dropped open. “Holy shit!”

Scholar chuckled devilishly. “I know, right? I really overhauled that thing. Anyways, as for keeping it close to her, I doubt that she’d have let something that powerful out of her sight. Seriously, she took a risk with stashing me so far out and look where that got her.”

Chrysalis nodded in acceptance. “Alright, good point. So what now?”

Scholar held a finger up. “First, we get to Chrysalis’s hive and fix things up. We’re going to need an army for this. Then, we sneak back in to Canterlot and crash the wedding reception. If we play our cards just right, they won’t be able to make a move against us while I get my book back.”

The trio stared at him for a second before finally Trixie face-hoofed and groaned. “You’re just playing this by the ear, aren’t you?”

“They’re learning! See Chrysalis? I told you they were naturals!”

There was a trio of groans before the group was engulfed in a flash of bright green light.

After that, all that was left was the smoldering remains of a manticore.

**-One Hour Later, Canterlot Gardens-**

 It was an average night in Canterlot gardens. Or at least, it would have been, if not for the pounding music and flashing lights coming from the reception to Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and Shining Armor’s wedding. Considering how the party was also doubling as a victory celebration for the defeat of the changeling invasion, the party would be going on for a nice long while.

Unknown to the partygoers, there were multiple unwanted guests in attendance.

A ways away from the party, the air shimmered for a second before finally unveiling and revealing the trio, Chrysalis, and Scholar.

Scholar glanced at Chrysalis silently. Her eyes flashed green for a moment before she nodded. Scholar nodded back and gestured ahead with his hand. The rest of the group signaled their acknowledgement before beginning to move forwards.

However, as they came up to an intersection, something changed.

Scholar halted all of a sudden, raising his arm and forcing the rest of the group to halt.

Chrysalis tapped his shoulder and looked at him worriedly.

Scholar’s only response was to move in the direction that led  _away_  from the party.

The team glanced at each other in confusion before hesitantly following closely behind him.

After about a minute of walking, Chrysalis decided to chance speaking. “Scholar,” She hissed, “What on Mundus are you doing!? My children are in position, why aren’t we heading to the reception!?”

“A mistake,” Scholar growled under his breath. “A very big, stupid mistake. But it’s a mistake I’d rather get over and done with.”

Chrysalis growled. “Damn it, Scholar, what the hell...are you...” She trailed off as she saw where they’d arrived.

The Canterlot Statue Garden.

“Oh.” She whispered.

“Yeah,” Scholar mumbled as he continued walking. “Oh.”

Iron Will frowned in confusion. “Iron Will doesn’t understand. What are we doing here?”

“That’s easy,” Scholar stopped in front of a statue and stared up at it. A mismatched monster, made up of at  _least_  eight different species and was posed in a ridiculous position.

“We’re here to see an old acquaintance.”

Gilda grimaced in confusion. “What, this ugly-ass statue?”

_“Oh, like you’re such a looker!”_

The trio jerked back in shock. The voice had come from their  _heads!_  “W-what!?” Trixie stammered. “It speaks!?”

_“‘It’ is such an insulting term! I, madam, am a ‘he’!”_

“Friends, allow me to introduce Discord, Spirit of Chaos.” Chrysalis said solemnly.

“And all around pain in the ass.” Scholar finished in a dead tone of voice.

_“Now you’re just being mean!”_ the statue exclaimed.  _“And calling me a mere ‘acquaintance’ of all things? Come now, Scholar, I thought we were friends!”_

“We are  _not_  friends, Discord.” Scholar stated.

That seemed to throw the petrified draconequus for a loop.  _“I-wha-! Scholar! Such_ harsh _words! Why would you_ possibly _be so pointlessly cruel!?”_

“Let me think...” Scholar said mockingly. “Oh, I know!” His runes whipped into a furious frenzy. “All of this? The world being completely fucked up?  **IT’S ALL YOUR FUCKING FAULT!”**

Discord’s presence immediately turned frigid.  _“It was_ not _my fault. Those arrogant, self-righteous_ nags _started it.”_

**“Yes,”**  Scholar snarled,  **“But** ** _you_** **escalated it!”**

**~~~**

**Scholar growled furiously as he paced in the room. “Where** **_are_ ** **they!?” He demanded.**

**There was a flash of green light before Queen Chrysalis appeared in the chamber, scowling angrily.**

**Scholar whipped around to face her before sighing in exasperation. “They’re not coming, are they?”**

**Chrysalis snorted in derision. “Of course not. Her Imperious** **_Bitchiness_ ** **is far too occupied with rallying the troops for war to be bothered!”**

**The Rune Keeper groaned. “And let me guess, the** **_others_ ** **are too busy trying to calm her down to make it?”**

**Chrysalis’s scowl deepened. “Wrong. They’re all helping her.”**

**Scholar’s jaw dropped. “All of them. Even** **_him!?”_ **

**Chrysalis nodded. “He was using** **_that_ ** **voice. I haven’t heard him use it since...” She shuddered at the mere memory.**

**Scholar’s fist clenched. “Damn it! The greatest pacifist in the** **_world_ ** **and even** **_he’s_ ** **baying for blood!”**

**“As should we!” Serpense interjected as he tromped in. “We should be acting right alongside them!” “Why the hell are we still here!?”**

**“Because, snake-breath,” Scholar reprimanded. “You’re all over-reacting!”**

**“Over-reacting!?” A strong, gravelly voice demanded.**

**Scholar flinched and turned around. Towering above him at around ten feet tall was a nigh literal mountain of brown metal armor and pure muscle. A minotaur of unparalleled size and power, he had a golden ring through his nose and was lugging a huge, double-bladed war axe over his shoulders.**

**“Minos.” He groaned.**

**The minotaur snorted furiously. “You** **_know_ ** **what’s going on in there. My people can’t move the earth! Barely** **_any_ ** **of our magic is working! Hell, some races are even being actively** **_poisoned!”_ **

**“He’s right, Scholar,” Chrysalis interjected. “My children are reacting very negatively to the concentrated harmony.”**

**“As are the hydra!” Serpense added. “And the hippocampi!” “And the water nymphs!” “Freaking hell, even the** **_slimes_ ** **are panicking!” “** **_Nothing_ ** **fazes them!”**

**“Even the** **_souls.”_ **

**The Rune Keeper shuddered at the voice.**

**Or rather** **_voices._ **

**From out of the shadows came a floating, shadowy figure. He was cloaked in a ratty, dilapidated black-and-blue cloak that covered its entire body. The figure had no legs, and from out of it’s sleeves protruded two skeletal hands. Looking beneath the hood, all that could be seen was a nigh infinite darkness, broken only by a source of blue light** **_deep_ ** **inside the hood. Orbiting around the figure were multiple balls of ethereal blue flame. A singular length of chain was wrapped around it’s torso and hung down from it’s arms, ending in spiked shackles.**

**The creature started speaking. It’s voice was low and droning, but the truly frightening aspect was that it repeated on and on and on, sounding as though an entire crowd, a** **_legion,_ ** **was speaking simultaneously. “Several individuals have expired within the event,” It intoned. “Yet none of their contracts have been upheld. Their souls remain uncollected. Their transactions remain unfulfilled. Truly a tragedy.”**

**“Yeeees, Solum, truly we should be focusing less on the overall consequences of this dilemma and more on how your business is suffering.”Scholar growled acidically.**

**“We are glad you agree.” The wight stated emotionlessly.**

**“Don’t change the subject, Scholar,” Minos rumbled, his voice like two tectonic plates grating against each other. “The Wight Lord might be a self-concerned ass, but the point stands! This is the time for action!”**

**“No! It isn’t!” Scholar protested. “Look, what Celestia, Luna and Cadance are doing is completely insane, yes, but it’s also out of desperation!” He sighed heavily. “We all know how things have been going for awhile now. We all know that the ponies have had a hard time coping. This isn’t an act of malice, or aggressiveness! This is a last resort. They’re panicking, being irrational, but so long as we play our cards right, this will all blow over.”**

**“And then what!?” Chrysalis demanded. “We just leave them-?”**

**“No,” Scholar interrupted coldly. “No, look, just because this will end peacefully does** **_not_ ** **mean that all will be forgiven. I’ve already spoken with the Brothers and Daemos. We’ll apprehend them and discuss how to handle them. Together.** **_Calmly._ ** **Mark my words,  there** **_will_ ** **be repercussions for this.”**

**“Oh** **_I’ll_ ** **say there will.”**

**All of the heads present snapped up, staring at the being floating above them.**

**Scholar swallowed heavily, a sense of foreboding overcoming him. “What are you talking about, Discord?”**

**The draconequus chuckled maliciously. “Oh, nothing much. Just planning my assault on Equestria.”**

**Scholar’s eyes snapped wide open.** **_“What!?_ ** **Discord, have you heard a single** **_word_ ** **I’ve been saying!?”**

**Discord leaned back in the air and conjured a salmon that he used to buff his claws. “Oh yes, I have.** **_Every_ ** **word to be precise. It’s just that I’m calling bullshit on every last one of them.”**

**Scholar’s breath began to quicken, the runes around him beginning to accelerate. “Discord, listen to me,** **_please._ ** **This is a very delicate situation. If you press them, if you do the wrong thing, this could all spiral out of control!”**

**The Spirit of Chaos’s dismissed the fish, his smile growing positively feral as his mismatched fangs protruded from his lips. “** **_Perfect.”_ **

**The Rune Keeper paled dramatically. “Not in a good way, Discord! Not in a way that you, me or** **_anyone_ ** **would enjoy! Everyone will** **_suffer!”_ **

**“Unless,” The demonic being growled, “I slaughter every piece of life in that little shithole.”**

**Serpense shuddered. “D-Discord...” “What the hell-” “Why are you acting like this!?”**

**Minos narrowed his eyes as his grip on his axe re-doubled, the earth around him instinctually beginning to rumble. “What are you planning, demon?”**

**Discord snarled angrily as his face twisted in rage. “What those prissy pony bitches have done is** **_blasphemy!_ ** **They have** **_murdered_ ** **all of the chaos in Equestria! Destroyed it at it’s core! This...** **_affront!_ ** **Will not! Go! Unpunished!”**

**Chrysalis took a step back. Sweat would have been trailing down her carapace, had she had any sweat glands. “Discord, listen to yourself! The loss of chaos...it’s driven you mad!”**

**“** **_Madder.”_ ** **Solum groaned.**

**“Solum, shut it!” Scholar yelled. “Discord, don’t do it!”**

**Discord yanked out the pike he’d been using to clean his ears, bringing a load of earwax with it. “Hmm? What was that?” He grinned menacingly and held up his fingers in a motion that was recognized with horror by everyone present.**

**“All I heard was ‘do it’.”**

**SNAP!**

**_“DISCORD!”_ **

**~~~**

 Discord’s fury could be felt in the minds of everyone present.  _“I did what I had to do.”_

**“Once your little ‘temper tantrum’ was over and done with,”** Scholar rumbled, unimpeded.  **“We were forced to fix things on a** ** _global_** **scale. To clean up the mess** ** _you_** **made. And in the middle of it all, the Alicorns were** ** _convinced_** **that there was only** ** _one_** **way to do things,** _ **one**_ **way to make the world safe.”**

_“It’s not_ my  _fault that_ they  _overreacted! All you had to do was hit them like I did! Kill them once and for all!”_

His eyes narrowed menacingly. **“We were still reeling from your loss. We had no freaking idea of what was to come. When I came to negotiate, I was ambushed and forced to surrender. I was** ** _imprisoned,_** **first in a normal cell, then in Tartarus!”**

_“I...I’m sorry about that, but...”_

“Without Scholar, Concordia  _died,_ Discord,” Chrysalis stated coldly. “We couldn’t coordinate, we couldn’t work together, we broke down.”

_“T-that’s, that’s not-”_

“They  _shattered_  us. Took us down separately. One by one by one, we were sealed away in our prisons. Our  _people_  were sealed.”

_“B-but now you’re free! You c-can free_ them  _and-”_

“ Some were  _killed.”_

_“-grk!”_

“The trolls, the djinn...they’re  _extinct,_ Discord. Gone. They all fought to the bitter end.”

_“...”_

 Her tone turned accusatory. “All because you threw a fit.”

_“ENOUGH!”_

The group flinched in pain from the sudden shout that rang through their heads.

_“You think I don’t already_ know  _that!?”_ Discord growled. _“I understand damn it! And I’m sorry! I screwed up, irrevocably! I made a mistake, a big one. One so big that even I can’t fix. I might proclaim to be omnipotent, but there are things even_ I  _can’t change. This is all my fault, and I’m sorry.”_

The magic around Scholar died down, but his tone remained frigid. “Do you expect us to forgive you because you freed us?” He demanded. “Do you think we’ll let you out in turn?”

The draconequus sighed within his prison.  _“I think you’ll do the right thing, and fix what I broke. I think that you’ll be what this world needs, what I can’t be.”_

“And what would that be, Discord?” Chrysalis demanded. “A hero? The knight in shining armor come to save the day?”

To their surprise, Discord snorted.  _“Hardly. What this world needs is a villain who can play the protagonist.”_

Trixie blinked in confusion. “Come again?”

_“You heard me! A villain! This pretty little world needs to be torn apart with ferocity, animosity, but the one doing the tearing_ also  _needs to be likeable, to be both good and bad at the same time! I can play the villain easily enough, but at the end of the day, I’m not fierce enough to pull it off, I don’t have the determination. But Scholar?”_ He chuckled sardonically.  _“You have the fire. You have the will, the drive! You can be cruel or noble as the situation calls. You can do what needs to be done.”_

For the longest time, Scholar was silent, staring at the statue. At last...

“I haven’t forgiven you,” He stated neutrally. “We aren’t friends. But... I suppose I can rescind some animosity.”

A sigh of relief could be heard from Discord.  _“It’s better than nothing. Now then! I have some gifts!”_

Gilda crossed her arms and glared at the trickster being. “Oh yeah? What?”

_“First answer me these riddles three!”_

Scholar wheeled around and began walking towards the reception. “We’re leaving.”

_“BENEATH ME! THEY’RE BENEATH ME DAMN IT GET BACK HERE!”_

Scholar stopped and glanced over his shoulder at the statue in a bored manner. “Talk fast.”

If it could’ve, Discord’s eye would have twitched. Lacking that, all he could do was growl.  _“Arrogant little- while I was free, I managed to swipe some things from Canterlot’s main vault, where Celestia keeps a lot of old,_ dangerous  _items. I couldn’t find the Lexicon, it’s too well hidden, but I did find a nice substitute. I buried them beneath me so that when I was put back, my chaos would keep them well hidden. All you have to do is move me.”_

Scholar stared at him apathetically for a second before finally sighing. He caught Iron Will’s eye and jerked his head at the statue.

The minotaur nodded in acknowledgement. He took hold of the statue and-

CRASH!

_“OW! Be a bit more careful, will you!? You almost broke my horn off!”_

“Keyword ‘almost’, Discord, now stop complaining.” Scholar told the toppled Spirit. He then turned his attention towards where he’d been standing. “Now, what did you-!” Scholar cut himself off as he stared at what was poking out of the dirt.

“T-this is-!”

_“Am I good or what?”_

Scholar was silent for a moment as he drew the objects out of the earth and held them in his hands. After gazing upon them for a few minutes, he responded.

“Discord...I still haven’t forgiven you...” A small smile played across his lips. “But this goes a long ways towards that goal.”

_“Huzzah!”_

“Now then!” Scholar turned around and gazed at his team, glasses glinting in anticipation. “Everyone listen up.”

Everyone present couldn’t help but to grin.

“I have a plan.”

**To Be Continued…**


	7. A Most Joyous Reunion

In the main Canterlot gardens, the reception was in full swing. Music was pounding out of the speakers, ponies were dancing and laughing, overall everyone was having a good time.

Spike sighed as he stared into his punch.

Almost everyone.

The juvenile dragon was standing near the concessions table, idly swirling his drink as he mulled  over the day’s events.

_“He’s at least thirteen years old! He should be at least twice as long as me! Yet another wonderful aspect of your ever so glorious perfect world, Celestia!”_

Spike bit his lip. He’d been trying to forget those terrifying fifteen minutes as much as he could, but...

**_“BUT NOT FOR CONCORDIA! YOUR DUTY WAS NOT SOLELY TO THEM, BUT TO US ALL! WE SHARED THE RESPONSIBILITY, WE PROTECTED EVERYONE! UNTIL YOU BETRAYED US!”_ **

He shuddered and squeezed his eyes shut. It was so confusing. It felt like he had a few small pieces in a  _really_  big puzzle. All he wanted was to figure it out.

“Spike?”

The dragon’s eyes snapped open and he jerked his head up, staring into the worried eyes of one  of the first familial figures in his life.

“Spike, is everything alright?” Twilight asked again.

Spike swallowed lightly and plastered a smile on his face. “Y-yeah! Of course, Twilight! Everything’s great!”

The lavender unicorn’s worried look became tinged with annoyance. “Spike, I  _know_  when you’re lying to me. Be honest, what’s wrong?”

The dragon chewed on his lip for another second before sighing in defeat. “...I was thinking about what happened earlier. During the invasion...I was alone with Chrysalis and the Princesses.”

Twilight’s eyes widened in shock. “I- Spike, I’m so sorry, I-I can’t believe I forgot about that! Everything was happening so fast and-!”

Spike held his hands up, staving off his sister-figure’s panic. “Twilight, Twilight! It’s fine! Don’t worry, I wasn’t hurt, I’m fine, it’s all over anyways, it’s just...” He trailed off before sighing and staring into his drink again. “Chrysalis...she said a few things that got me thinking.”

Twilight frowned sadly. “Spike, Chrysalis was a changeling. Celestia told me about them after the invasion. By nature they’re tricksters, deceivers, you can’t take anything she says at face value.”

Spike’s eye twitched imperceptibly at the mention of Celestia. “Maybe...” He was silent for a second before looking at Twilight again. “Twilight, do you mind if I ask you a few questions?”

Twilight bit her lip in hesitation. “Spike...”

“Twilight...” His eyes filled with pleading. “Please...”

Twilight was silent for a second before sighing heavily. “Go ahead, Spike. I’ll try and answer to the best of my ability.”

Spike smiled lightly and nodded. “Thanks, Twilight.”

Twilight returned the smile. “So what do you want to know?”

Spike’s smile dropped. There was another moment of silence, then...

“Twilight,” He asked quietly. “Am I small?”

Twilight blinked in confusion. “Um, Spike-?”

“ _Not!”_ He interrupted. “Overall, that much is obvious. I meant...for a dragon.”

Twilight frowned and tilted her head. “Spike, didn’t we already go through all this with Garble during the migration?”

Spike scowled at the memory. “That actually supports my question. Garble and his friends might have been jerks, but they were  _sixteen!_ They were only a few years older than me and they were at least  _three times_ my size! Some of them were even four! Plus they had wings and could fly  and their flames were a lot larger and hotter ...” Spike cut his mounting rant off with a sigh. “They might not have been very mature, but when you get right down to it, they were a lot more grown up than me, while I’ve barely grown at all since I’ve hatched. That _can’t_  be normal.”

Twilight shrugged. “I..don’t know what to say, Spike. You know that ponies don’t know a lot about dragons. But...if you want my opinion, it _could_  be natural.”

Spike silently raised an eyebrow in question.

“Well,” She continued. “Remember how all of those dragons were of different shapes and sizes, and how Garble’s gang didn’t raise too much of a fuss about you not having any wings?”

He nodded hesitantly, wondering where she was going.

“Well...maybe dragons are like ponies, with different subspecies. While ponies have unicorns and pegasi and earth ponies, maybe dragons have ones that have hair or stubby tails or fins. Or in your case, ones that are smaller and don’t have wings! Actually...” She tapped her hoof to her chin. “Now that I think about it, that’s actually really likely. During the Greed Growth incident, you grew really really big,”

Spike shuddered. “Don’t remind me.”

Twilight continued unimpeded. “But you didn’t get any wings!”

He blinked. “Wait...really?”

She nodded. “Yup! If you’re different from Garble in that way, maybe you grow up at different rates too.”

Spike nodded slowly. “Yeah, that would make sense...” It might make sense, but Spike felt like something just wasn’t right.

Twilight must have sensed that something was amiss because she put a reassuring hoof on his shoulder. “Listen, Spike, I might not have all the answers, but I can tell you this: you’re definitely a healthy dragon and you have nothing to worry about or be ashamed of. Look at it this way, if you really want to get bigger, then there’s only one thing to do.”

Spike smiled at the old memory. “When little dragons want to get big and strong, they eat jewels and gems all day long.”

Twilight smiled and rubbed his head scales. “There you go.”

Spike chuckled as he fended her hoof off in embarrassment. He gave her a grateful grin. “Thanks Twilight.”

The lavender prodigy smiled indulgently. “Not a problem. Is there anything else?”

Spike scrunched his small snout in thought for a moment before biting his lip and looked down. “Yeah...” He looked up and nervously met her eyes. “Does the name ‘Concordia’ mean anything to you?”

Twilight blinked in surprise before looking up in thought. “Concordia. Concordia Concordia Concordia, I’ve heard that name, where have I heard that name?” She tapped her hoof for a second before her eyes snapped wide and she clapped her hooves together. “Oh! I remember now! Concordia, the old empire!”

Spike’s jaw dropped in surprise. “Seriously!? What do you know?”

Twilight hummed as she rubbed her chin. “Well, not a lot. Concordia is more myth than anything else. It’s said that long ago, Concordia was a monolithic empire, one that spanned the world, dwarfing any other kingdom to date, even Equestria!”

Spike listened intently, enraptured by what she was saying. “Wow...what happened to it?”

Twilight sighed and shook her head sadly. “It disappeared. Nobody knows how or why, but researchers suspect it wasn’t natural, seeing how it seemed to drop off the face of Equus after Discord’s reign. And even then, anything from before that time is really vague and unclear.” She frowned as a thought hit her. “Which is why outside of researchers who actively search for it, it’s virtually unknown. Spike, where did you hear that name?” She rapidly needled him.

Spike’s eyes darted left and right as he searched for an excuse. “Uhm, ah...”

Today was apparently the dragon’s lucky day, because before Twilight could press him, the music’s volume lowered and Pinkie’s voice came over the speakers.

“ALRIGHT, EVERYPONY! IT’S TIME FOR CADANCE AND SHINING ARMOR TO OPEN THEIR WEDDING PRESENTS! THEY’RE ON THE TABLE RIGHT NEXT TO THE CONCESSIONS STAND, PROVIDED BY SUGARCUBE CORNER! REMEMBER, IF IT AIN’T SUGARCUBE-!”

“PINKIE, NO ADVERTISING AT MY BROTHER’S WEDDING!” Twilight yelled.

“AWWWW!”

Twilight growled under her breath. “I swear, if she weren’t my friend...” She muttered as she trotted past Spike.

Spike sighed in relief.  _‘Phew! Dodged an arrow, there!’_

He turned around and jogged to catch up to Twilight, weaving through the crowd.

The rest of Twilight’s friends, Celestia, Luna, and the bride and groom were already at the table.

Cadance squealed lightly as she looked over the virtual mountain of presents. “This...this is incredible! It’s just too kind! I don’t even know where to start!”

“Oh! Oh! Oh!” Pinkie popped out of the pile and presented a package to her. “How about this one? No, wait!” She zipped back into the pile and exited about halfway up almost immediately, another present in her hooves. “This one!” Pop! “Or this one!” Pop “Or this o-woah!”

Pinkie squealed in surprise as a gold aura levitated her out of the pile. Celestia chuckled as she held the Element of Laughter in her magic. “Thank you for your opinion, Pinkie Pie, but I believe it would be best to leave the choice up to Cadance and Shining Armor.”

Pinkie giggled. “Oh, alright!”

Shining Armor hummed in thought before finally raising his hoof. “How about-”

“Mine!”

Later, people would testify to say that when they heard that voice, ice water filled the veins of every pony present.

Slowly, haltingly, heads turned to watch with horror as Queen Chrysalis strode confidently through the crowd, a large package covered in a black-and-green wrapping paper floating behind her, engulfed in a green aura.

“So sorry I’m late, everyone,” She said confidently, not a care in the world. “I just got a bit lost is all.”

All of a sudden, there were twin flashes of light as the celestial sisters teleported in front of the changeling queen, eyes and horns blazing with raw energy.

“Thou art not welcome here, insect.” Luna stated darkly.

Chrysalis pouted sadly. “Oh, that’s unfortunate. But I brought a gift!” She floated the package in front of her.

Suddenly, the present was ensnared in a large sphere of magneta energy. Well, it  _was_  large,  until the sphere shrank to about the size of a tennis ball, destroying the package in seconds.

Shining Armor didn’t even flinch as he stared at the queen emotionlessly, placing himself between Chrysalis and his wife, who was shaking in fear.

Chrysalis’s expression became deadpan. “That was an antique changeling vase made by Kathy Butterfly. It was worth close to ten thousand bits.”

Shining Armor’s expression remained unchanged. “I couldn’t care less,” He said coldly. “The Guard  is already on their way. Leave now or you’ll face the same fate.”

Chrysalis sighed and shook her head sadly. “Honestly now, all this pointless hostility! All I wanted to do was peacefully attend an old friend’s wedding reception! Is that too much to ask?”

Shining’s eyes narrowed in anger. “You don’t  _have_  any friends here.”

The queen’s expression changed to a sadistic smile. “Obviously. Hence the prefix ‘old’. But still, we  _were_  once friends!” Her horn suddenly ignited and she disappeared in a flash of green.

“Remember, Cadance?” The princess shrieked and fear and whipped around, staring up at Chrysalis’s still smiling face. “Oh so very very _very_  long ago. Back in the old days...the days of Concordia!”

**-o-**

A murmur began to spread through the crowd at these words. Twilight’s coat paled slightly. “Chrysalis and Cadance know about Concordia?” She whispered incredulously.

“Pst! Twilight!”

The lavender mare nearly jumped out of her fur. She whipped around, horn alight only to come face-to-face with-

“Applejack!?” She hissed.

The cowpony held her hoof to her mouth, shushing her friend. “Quiet! Rainbow’s gatherin’ the others at the weddin’ cake, c’mon!”

Twilight swallowed heavily before nodding. “R-right.” She turned around to face Spike. “Spike, go find somewhere to hide. Don’t worry, this will all be over soon.”

Spike nodded hesitantly. “Got it.”

“Twilight!”

Twilight glanced over her shoulder. “Coming!” She looked back. “Good luck.” And with that, she galloped quietly after her friend.

Spike swallowed nervously before turning his gaze back on the conflict. Whatever was going on, he might have been afraid, but he sure as Tartarus wasn’t going to miss it.

At the same time, halfway across the crowd, Fluttershy was shaking in her coat. “Oh d-dear, oh my...”

Suddenly, a hoof tapping her on the wing made her nearly yelp before a hoof clamped over her mouth.

“Shh shh shh, Fluttershy, it’s me!”

The mare’s eyes widened in recognition. As soon as the hoof released her mouth, she spoke in surprise.

_“Twilight!?”_

**-o-**

Celestia snarled in anger. “Enough, Chrysalis!”

The queen’s sole response was to cock an eyebrow. “Hm?”

“You are dredging up things that should remain dead and buried. Leave now, or I swear to you-”

“You’ll what?” Chrysalis asked mockingly. “You’ll blast me? Destroy me? Smite me down?” She gained a snide, nigh evil grin as she glanced at Luna. “Banish me to the moon?”

Celestia snorted in fury. “Why you-!” Her horn lit up like a beacon.

Chrysalis’s expression turned deadly serious, her horn lighting up in turn, just as bright. “Go ahead and try. I’m not the same decrepit bug I was a few hours ago. Your precious harmony isn’t affecting me any more. I’m back at full strength, just as strong as you. Frankly, I believe I might even be stronger, considering how you haven’t had anyone up to your level in centuries. You haven’t even been using your mental shields, what chance do you have in combat?”

Luna bared her teeth angrily. “How hath thou accomplished this, villain?”

Chrysalis shrugged. “Oh, a bit of cardio, some magical reps, a well-balanced diet...”

“N-no!” Cadance interrupted. She was shaking, but she still had enough will to glare at Chrysalis. “The harmony...how did you get around the harmony? It was keeping you weakened, asleep...”

Shining glanced at his wife questioningly. “Cadance...”

“How!?” Cadance screamed, tears trailing down her cheeks. “How are you awake!? Why won’t you just go away and leave us alone!?”

“Ah, well see now, I believe that might be my fault.”

Cadance, Celestia and Luna all froze simultaneously at the voice, their magic extinguishing itself.

“My bad, really, I’m a terrible influence, I know. It’s just that, well, you know how I am.”

_‘No.’_  Celestia thought numbly.

“I’ve never been happy with the status quo, always sided with Discord and enjoyed some anarchy now and then.”

_‘Impossible.’_ Luna protested weakly.

“But! Why worry about business, hm? This is a party! I just wanted to come along and celebrate the happiness of one of my oldest and dearest friends!”i

_‘Please, not him, anyone but him, anyone at all!’_ Cadance pleaded, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Gradually, the Alicorns turned around, dreading the sight that they knew in their hearts to be inevitable.

Scholar stood at the entrance to the gardens, hands behind his back as he grinned kindly. “Is that so much to ask?”

Celestia stared at him in pure panic. “How.”

Scholar cocked an eyebrow. “Hm? Do be specific my dear. What happened to the eloquent mare I once knew?”

_“How the hell did you escape!?”_ She hissed, in absolutely no mood for games.

“They seem to be rather fond of that question.” Chrysalis commented idly.

Shining flashed his horn. “You, shut your mouth!” He glanced at the Princesses. “Princess, the Guard will be here any moment, what should we do?”

“Yes, what  _should_  they do, hm Celestia?” Scholar inquired. “Engage us? Fight us? Because if they do...” Scholar’s glasses glinted with hellfire. “We will take as many down with us as we can. Guards...” He swept his gaze to the side, out over the crowd, causing many to flinch back. “And civilians alike.”

Luna took a step forwards, her eyes blazing. “Lay a hand on our little ponies and thou shalt suffer a fate far worse than eternal imprisonment, knave!”

Scholar chuckled sardonically. “Maybe, maybe. But in the end, you’d still have corpses on your hands. As it is, it appears that we are at a stalemate.”

“You can’t attack us because we’d go down in a veritable blaze of glory.” Chrysalis said casually.

“And we can’t attack you because frankly we don’t have enough firepower to take the two of you on.”

Shining Armor wheeled around and took a menacing step towards the alien figure. “Make that four, creature.”

The light in Scholar’s glasses mimicked a raised eyebrow before he chuckled lightly. “Cute, but no. It’s two. Celestia and Luna are forces to be reckoned with, but you? You’ll put on a pretty little lightshow, sure, but in the end I’ll just scrape what’s left of you off my shoes.”

“And Cadance?” Chrysalis suddenly lowered her head to stare the shaking princess in the eyes, causing her to jump back in fear. A satisfactory grin played across her face. “Let’s be blunt here: You’ve lost your edge. You’re nowhere  _near_  close to the ice-cold tactician we once knew.  _She_  could calmly sip her tea while someone was writhing in agony from the poison she’d just served them and not even bat an eyelash. You?” Chrysalis sneered in disgust. “You’re  _despicable.”_

“Chrysalis, enough!” Scholar said casually. “Please, this is a reception, let’s at least  _try_  to be civil, hm?”

The changeling snorted lightly and stepped back.

Scholar began to slowly walk forwards, the crowd parting before him.

Celestia swallowed heavily, staring at him. “What do you want, Scholar?”

The Rune Keeper hummed idly, cocking his head back and forth. “Let’s see... Concordia restored to it’s former glory, this pathetic nation burning in the flames of my unholy wrath, you, your sister and your niece’s heads on a pike...” He spoke easily, as though discussing the weather. He then snapped his fingers, pretending to remember something. “Ah, but for now, I’ll gladly settle for something far more low-brow.”

He held his hand out to his side and gestured. In a flurry of runes, a chair and a table flew out of the crowd, bowling over several ponies in the process, before settling directly in front of Scholar. In a single deft move, he swept the chair out and sat down in it. He then reached into his robes and drew out a black case and placed it on the table. He clicked two latches on the case open.

“I want...”

He flipped the case open, revealing...

An eight-by-eight grid of black and white squares.

“To play a game.”

For the longest time, there was silence.

Finally, Celestia got her jaw working again. “What!?”

“You heard me. A game,” Scholar said simply. “Come on, Celestia. It’s been over two thousand years since we’ve played anything! Don’t tell me you think you’ll lose even after all this time?”

Celestia was silent, staring at him in disbelief. Then, she slowly began to walk forwards.

Luna’s jaw dropped open in shock. “Sister!?”

The elder alicorn shot her a look. “It’s alright Luna, after all,” She looked at where Scholar was sitting worriedly. He smiled devilishly at her. “He just wants to play a game.”

Luna bit her lip before nodding hesitantly.

Celestia slowly trotted up to the table and stood before it, looking down on both the board and Scholar.

The human rubbed his hands in anticipation. “Excellent! Let’s begin!”

Celestia wasn’t swayed. “What’s your game, Scholar?”

He shot her an incredulous look. “Really now, I thought that was obvious!” He flourished his hand, materializing a White King. “Chess!”

She merely narrowed her eyes. “Please don’t insult my intelligence. I’ve known you for too long, you’d never waltz in here just to play chess.”

Scholar’s smile grew strained for a second. Slowly, he set the King down in the middle of the board. “Well, if you don’t want to play chess...” His smile turned sadistic as he raised an arm, runes swirling around it. Several ponies in the crowd gave cries of fear as runes suddenly encircled them as well. Scholar’s glasses glinted malefically. “How about ‘pop-the-pony’?”

Luna and Shining Armor scowled and took a step towards Scholar, but were halted by Celesta’s raised wing. Her expression had barely changed. “Chess is fine.”

The Rune Keeper grinned enthusiastically, dismissing the runes. “Perfect!” he exclaimed, picking the piece up again.

“But before we begin, maybe we can talk a bit?”

“Hmm...” Scholar pondered this for a bit, idly twirling the King in his hand. Finally, he shrugged dismissively and engulfed the chess piece in his hand, making it disappear. “So be it.”

Celestia sighed in relief. “Very well then.”

Behind them, Luna’s eyes widened in realization. Acting fast, she discretely gestured at Shining Armor, tilting her head towards the exit to the Gardens. Shining widened his eyes in realization. He turned towards Cadance, intent on getting her to join him, but scowled when he saw that Chrysalis has interposed herself and was keeping his wife terrified and off her game. He looked back at Luna and shook his head, eliciting a scowl.

“So!” Scholar leaned back in his chair, swinging his feet up to rest on the table. “What do you want to talk about?”

“Well, at the risk of repeating myself...” Celestia said. “How did you escape from Tartarus?”  This question sent hushed whispers rippling through the crowd.

Scholar stared at her neutrally for a second before grinning. “Luna helped me.”

_“WHAT!?”_ The Alicorn in question screamed.

“Oh yes,” he said cheekily. “Undid every lock and let me walk out right past her, no fuss no muss. It was really quite professional.”

“We-you-!” Luna sputtered in disbelief.

“Meaning that you tricked her and used some form of subterfuge to circumvent her.” Celestia said evenly.

Scholar’s grin grew devilish. “You know me so well, Celestia!”

“Yes, I do.” She said, a tinge of sadness entering her voice. “Which is why these actions confuse me. Why are you doing this, Scholar? Before you would never threaten the lives of innocent ponies.”

Suddenly, Scholar’s smile died, slipping straight off his face. “That’s the keyword, Celestia,” He said solemnly. “‘Before’. Before, you stood beside me, and fought for the greater good. Before, I trusted you. Before,” He scowled deeply. “You wouldn’t have ever betrayed me. Betrayed  _us.”_

Celestia narrowed her eyes at him. “We were presented with no choice.”

Scholar whipped his feet off the table and stood up, leaning over the table and into her face glaring straight into her eyes. “Wrong.  _I_  had no choice. I tried to  _stop_  Discord, I tried to resolve things peacefully. And for my troubles I was treated as a criminal, and forced to bear witness as you  _eviscerated_ Concordia and all it’s people, piece by piece.”

Celestia opened her mouth to protest-

“If you dare say that you had no other option, I will rip your tongue out and slaughter every last one of your ‘precious little ponies’.” He stated, his tone of voice low and deadly.

Her jaws snapped shut.

He continued to stare into her eyes, his entire being radiating hostility. “Two thousand years of unjust imprisonment, Celestia.” Scholar intoned darkly. “My patience has run out. I will see my goals met, and I could give a damn if I have to spill an ocean of innocent blood to do it.”

Scholar fell into his seat, breathing deeply to re-focus his mood. “We’re done talking. Let’s play.”

Celestia nodded tersely. “Very well then. I believe you have the pieces?”

Scholar’s mood flipped, returning to his jovial expression. “Indeed!” He exclaimed, producing the King again. “How about you play white, hm? You’re going to need every advantage you can get!”

The solar Alicorn shrugged noncommittally.

“Now, first off, we have the White King.” He placed the piece on the appropriate square. Suddenly, the playing piece was engulfed in a flash of bright light. When the light died down, it had been replaced with a miniature effigy of Celestia, wings spread and an imperious expression etched on her face.

“Strong, powerful, the most important piece on the board. Perhaps even the whole world? Well, according to her anyways. Personally, I just think she’s full of it.”

The real Celestia felt her eye twitch.

“Next, the White Queen!”

Another flash, and now Luna was present beside Celestia.

“Deadly, fast, feared by all. Notoriously over-estimated and unreliable, however.”

Luna growled viciously.

Another flash, and now there were twin Cadance’s, their heads bowed in sorrow.

“The bishop, once so wily and deceptive. But what changed? Was it when you laid the whole of Necropolis to rest, Solum Nox struggling against his shackles and screaming in rage? When you entombed the Citadel of Flames, with Pyrae Daemos still in it, roaring in fury?”

Chrysalis’s eyes narrowed in an accusatory manner. “Or maybe it was when you exterminated the trolls.”

Cadance flinched as though struck.

Chrysalis smirked in victory. “As I thought. But at what precise moment, I wonder? Was it when the queen raged at the death of her kind, and their only hope of propagation, and fought so fiercely that when she died, the surrounding landscape had been irrevocably ravaged? Was it when the notorious pirate captain fought you to the last and decided to go down with her ship, her own lover standing by her till the end even as the fleet burned around them? Or maybe...was it  _him_?”

Cadance’s shivering redoubled, the mere memory terrifying her.

The changeling sighed in mock sympathy. “In all honesty, it’s hard to blame you. After all, to have the greatest preacher of peace in the world berate you, insult you, call you a monster with such vigor, such pure, unadulterated  _rage?”_ Chrysalis chuckled derisively. “It’s no surprise that you’ve become so pathetic.”

Apparently, Cadance still had some fight left in her. She grit her teeth and returned Chrysalis’s stare, a spark of rage present in her eyes.

“Don’t you  _dare,”_ She whispered harshly. “Call me pathetic.”

Chrysalis laughed mockingly. “Why shouldn’t I? After all, you can’t protect anything,” There was another flash of green light, and suddenly she was leering over Shining Armor. “Not even your  precious little husband.”

Shining’s horn rapidly flashed purple as he tried to ensnare her in a barrier, but he cried out in pain as his horn was engulfed in an aura of sickly green energy. Queen Chrysalis smirked at the princess. “Well Cadance?” she taunted. “Aren’t you going to save your precious knight?”

Cadance breathed heavily. Slowly, her eyes and horn lit up in pink light. Her magic charged, growing brighter and brighter and brighter. And when finally, the magic reached it’s peak...

_“I am angry...because I forgive you...”_

It sputtered out, dying down as Cadance collapsed to her knees, sobbing miserably. “Damn it...I’m sorry, I’m so so sorry...”

The crowd watched in speechless horror as one of their beloved princesses broke down completely and utterly.

Chrysalis smirked victoriously. “As I said,” She released Shining Armor and turned around, trotting back to stand by Scholar. “Pathetic.”

Shining Armor leaned down and nuzzled his wife worriedly, but it couldn’t break through the emotions wrought by the raw memories.

Scholar smiled endearingly at Chrysalis. “Well played!”

She nodded and gave a fang-filled smirk. “It was my  _pleasure._  Especially considering how  _she_  was the one who sealed my hive personally.”

Scholar blinked in surprise. “That’s news to me.”

Chrysalis gave a shrug. “Ah well. It doesn’t matter either way. I’ve got catharsis, she’s miserable, it’s a win win.”

They were speaking casually, ignoring the thin veil of magic and rage shrouding Celestia. “That was cruel, Chrysalis.”

Scholar waved his hand casually. “Personally, I’m of the opinion that that was rather fun. But!” He clapped his hands. “That’s neither here nor there. We were playing a game! Where were we again?”

Chrysalis tapped her chin in thought. “Well, seeing how I just made her Bishop useless, I believe that next would be the Knights, correct?”

He snapped his fingers. “That’s it! The White Knights!” Another flash, and this time it was two Wonderbolts on the board. “Famous, well renowned, elite,” He leaned back and smirked up at the clouds as Spitfire, Soarin, Rapidfire and Fleetfoot landed on the floating white puffs and glared down at him. “And right on time! Though,” He leaned in and stage-whispered conspiratorially with Celestia. “I think that this generation is a bit of a down-grade, you know? Comet Chaser would have been spitting feathers if he saw what they were like! I mean, seriously, publicity stunts instead of military maneuvers? For shame, Celestia, for shame!”

A gold aura engulfed his shoulder and shoved him back into his chair.

Scholar blinked in surprise before smirking. “Losing your temper, eh? Good! It will make your defeat that much more satisfying. Moving on, we have...the Rook!”

Now it was Shining Armor’s turn to take to the board.

“Tough and surly, he believes he’s a powerhouse, but in all honesty? He’s just a small piece playing on a board that’s so much bigger than he is.”

Shining Armor cast a glare over his shoulder, but was too pre-occupied with comforting his wife to do much else.

“And finally...” He swept his hand over the board. Left behind were the miniaturized renditions of the Elements of Harmony and (much to an onlooking drake’s annoyance) Spike. “The Pawns. Let’s be frank here...” He smirked at Celestia. “This pretty much speaks for itself.”

“HEY!” Pinkie Pie’s voice came from out of the crowd. “I resemble that remark!”

“I honestly don’t care!” Scholar returned in an amused tone of voice.

Celestia frowned in confusion for a second. Was there an...echo to Pinkie’s voice?

Her attention was drawn back to the board by Scholar speaking again. “Oh, wait! My bad, I forgot a few of your pawns!” Another snap and, to Celestia’s horror, a guard in uniform materialized.

With a large amount of clanking and stomping, a platoon of guards marched through the crowd, brandishing spears and pikes. They swiftly moved to surround the two interlopers. Simultaneously, a squadron of armored pegasi arrived and began circling above.

Scholar whistled as he looked around. “My oh my, so many pawns. How very  _un_ impressive. Days were that I’d actually have legitimate reason to worry about a platoon.”

Celestia swallowed heavily, trying to refocus and calm herself down.

Trying to convince herself that she could win.

“Scholar, I am giving you one chance, and one chance only.” She stated imperiously. “Surrender, now. Maybe we can find some middle ground, room to negotiate-”

“Celestia.” Scholar was deadly again. “An entire species is  _extinct_  because of you. You and your sister have committed xenocide. There is not now, nor will there ever be any room for negotiation. Now then...” His smile was back, but now it was filled with pure malice. “I believe that it’s time for me to place  _my_  pieces on the board, hm?”

Before Celestia could respond, he flourished his hand and produced an obsidian rendition of himself.

“The Black King!” He exulted. “Powerful, charming, handsome, intelligent, talented-”

“Modest to a fault?” Chrysalis questioned innocently.

Scholar rolled his eyes. “Har har har, hilarious.” He placed his piece on the board, but unlike the white pieces, he placed his own several spaces out of place. He grinned mischievously at Celestia. “Ah yes, you see, Celestia, I took the liberty of playing a few turns without you. I’d extend my apologies, but I could honestly not care less about what you think.”

Celestia swore her heart skipped a beat as her pupils dilated.  _‘Played a few-!? Oh no!’_

Scholar moved on. He produced a piece of Chrysalis. “The Queen. Beautiful, skilled, influential,  and with a good head on her shoulders.”

Chrysalis raised an eyebrow at the description. “Oh, is that all?”

The Rune Keeper twisted around and gave her an incredulous look. “Hypocrite!”

The changeling queen chuckled in embarrassment. “I suppose.”

Scholar was silent for a moment before smiling and sighing sadly. “Oh, very well then,” He placed the piece on the board next to his own. “She’s also very generous! I mean, look!”

To Celestia’s horror, he swept his hand over the board and materialized six pieces shaped like regular changelings.

“She was gracious enough to provide me with all these pawns!”

“Hey, we resent those implications!”

Celestia jumped in surprise and whipped around. She stared in shock. A changeling had popped out of nowhere and was mock-glaring at Scholar.

“Yeah!” Another Changeling had appeared and spoken up in a scratchy voice. “‘Pawn’ is an offensive title! It is completely unfair!”

“We could go on strike!” Another popped up. And another and another, on and on, appearing from out of nowhere within the crowd and speaking up.

“Yeah, let’s go on strike!”

“Union! Union! Union!”

“Give us dental!”

“We want a raise!”

“You don’t get  _paid,_ geniuses!” Scholar called out.

There was a moment of silence. Then...

“He’s right.”

“Good point.”

“Damn, we did  _not_  think this through.”

Scholar chuckled and shook his head. “For the record, these guys might not be very smart, but what they lack in brains, they make up for in ability. Because when you get down to the brass tacks...”

**-o-**

Twilight shivered in fear. “I can’t believe this, I can’t believe this, I can’t believe this...” She muttered, trying to process what she was hearing. Celestia, a betrayal, xenocide!? It was...impossible! Insane!

“Pst, Twilight!” the unicorn snapped her attention to her farmer friend. “We’re at the cake!”

Twilight swallowed heavily. She quickly re-focused herself.  _‘Deal with this and get to my friends first. Then figure everything else later. I’m going to need a_ lot _of checklists.’_ She nodded quietly. “Alright, and stick close! We have to be careful, there are changelings in the crowd. Unless we’re careful, they’re going to try and...”

Suddenly, they emerged from the crowd, directly in front of the wedding cake. Twilight’s mouth ran dry.

The rest of her friends had arrived just as they did.

And they’d brought several long-lost identical twins with them.

The Applejack who’d led her to the cake turned around and leered at her. “Y’all were sayin’?” She mocked before she and five others were engulfed in green fire and reverted to their original forms.

“Why you-GAH!” The real Rainbow Dash tried to take to the air but was tackled from behind by a changeling that uncloaked from thin air. She crashed to the ground as the changeling and a partner held her wings.

“I’d suggest that you calm down!” The changeling growled.

“Grah,  _buck-_ ARGH!” Rainbow Dash screamed in pain when the two soldiers yanked on her wings.

“You’ve got pretty wings, Dashie,” The insectoid being mocked.

“Yeah!” his partner concurred. “Be a real shame to  _break ‘em!”_

Rainbow Dash’s struggles ceased instantly as she panted heavily, glaring up at her captors.

“Hey Lacewing, I don’t think she likes us!”

“Awww, that’s too bad, Rotfang, I wanted us to be friends! HAHAHA!”

Twilight took a step backwards, discretely lighting her horn up...

Until a carapace-clad leg swung itself around her neck pulling her close. “Now now now, Twilight! You don’t want to leave just yet!”

She could  _hear_  the grin in the changeling’s flanged voice.

“The fun is  _just_  getting started.”

  **-o-**

“They are damn good at their jobs.” Scholar finished smugly.

Celestia bit her lip as she watched the changelings corner the party guests and square off with the guards. With their active camouflage and sentience restored, the changelings were at least ten times as effective as they had been during the original invasion.

Scholar shook his head sadly. “Still though, Celestia. Tsk tsk tsk. I don’t even have all my pieces on the board and you’re already at a disadvantage. This game is  _not_  shaping up for you, is it?”

Celestia swallowed heavily. “Scholar-”

“Shhhh!” He interrupted. “Quiet! I still have a few pieces to put down. And you’re definitely going to want to see this. First!” Another flourish and he was holding on to a black tower. “My Rook. Faithful, unerringly loyal. Truly reliable, a person to trust. Oh,” He smirked at her deviously. “And I almost forgot.” He slammed the piece onto the board, causing it to shatter into the form of a minotaur. Suddenly, the ground began to shake and rumble.

“Strong.”

BOOM!

Walls of dirt and stone erupted from the earth, encircling the party and cutting it off from the outside world. When the walls stopped rising, a minotaur clad in bronze armor dropped to the earth like a meteor, shattering the earth around him.

The minotaur pulled himself to his full height and smirked triumphantly as he crossed his arms. “Iron Will is honored to inform you that the wedding is secure. There’ll be no more interruptions.”

Celestia paled as she looked his armor over. “Oh no...” She breathed.

“Then!” She whipped around as Scholar produced another piece. “The Bishop! Flamboyant, elusive, devilishly devious, and downright enchanting!” He tossed the piece onto the board where it began to spin madly across the tiles before finally settling into position, having morphed into the form of a caped unicorn.

All of a sudden, there was an explosion of silver light from the middle of the crowd.

“EXCUSE HER! THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE DEMANDS YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE!”

Standing on a table was a light blue unicorn in silver armor and a purple cape and hat. The light was streaming from her body and twisting around her, blurring her like a mirage. Suddenly, she shot a huge blast of silver magic into the air that exploded like fireworks. Multiple guards and guests looked up to stare at it.

Celestia followed it up as well, but her eyes widened in panic within seconds. She quickly snapped her eyes down and cried out. “NOPONY LOOK AT HER!”

Luna’s eyes widened in recognition. She tried to step forwards, but before she could she was halted by multiple guards suddenly pointing their weapons at her and gripping her body with several shades of magic . Luna attempted to struggle and order them to release her, but when she caught sight of their eyes, she relinquished. They had stared at the light, and their pupils had been filled with it. Throughout the brawl, ponies were turning traitor and disarming their friends, family and allies.

Celestia raised her eyes and looked at her old friend pleadingly. “Scholar,  _please!”_

“Shhh, Celestia!” he interrupted. “This is going to be  _really_  spectacular! Cause now, it’s time for the Knight!” He brandished the piece excitedly. “Brash, bold, and oh so boisterous! She’s loud, she’s aggressive, she can be a bit bone-headed at times...” He smiled with pride. “But that doesn’t stop her from a being a damn good ally. And an even  _better_  flyer!”

“SCREEE!” A predatory screech rang out from the sky. The Wonderbolts, who had been dealing with the aerial changelings, froze and wheeled around, trying to locate the source of the noise. Suddenly, Spitfire was blindsided by a streak of yellow and gold, struck down. She fell to the earth, her body lightly smoking. The remaining Bolts tried to scatter, but it was no use.

The streak wheeled around in an instant and caught up to Soarin, subjecting him to the same fate. Fleetfoot and Rapidfire tried to wheel around and fight back, but it was no use. The streak circumvented them, maneuvering above them and tackling them simultaneously, plummeting to the earth where they crashed with a BANG!

For an instant, dust obscured the area. Then, it was blown away as a griffon, clad in radiant golden armor, stood on her hind legs and flourished her wings, dispelling the cloud. She brandished the singed Wonderbolts as trophies, lightning coursing off her body as she screeched her victory to the heavens.

Celestia breathed heavily as she watched the demoralizing sight.

“Impressive, eh?” She slowly turned to stare at Scholar as he placed the playing piece on the board, morphing it to resemble Gilda. “But the finale is yet to come!”

She slowly closed her eyes in resignation. “What could you  _possibly_ have left? What’s left that you haven’t already done?”

“Ah, well see, that’s the thing,” He chuckled mirthlessly. “All I have left to play,” He held out two normal black pawns in his hand. “Are two measly little pawns that I didn’t even plan on. But!” he held up a finger. “They are  _tenacious_  little buggers. Slippery too. So slippery, in fact,” He placed them on the board  _behind_ the white pieces. “That they’ve been right under your nose this entire time. Say, Celestia, I’ve gotta wonder...” His smirk was that of the devil himself. “Isn’t it time to cut the cake?”

Celestia’s eyes snapped wide open in fear. “No...” She whispered.

She whipped her head around and stared at where the cake was. To her horror, Twilight and her friends had been cornered near the cake by a group of changelings.

“TWILIGHT!” She screamed.

The purple unicorn snapped her head around to stare at her mentor.

All of a sudden, a huge crimson blade emerged from within the cake, protruding directly above Twilight.

What occurred next...was a blur.

The blade whipped around in a frenzy, shredding the cake to bits. Then, there was a blast of flames, sending the pastry flying everywhere. Amidst the mayhem, something,  _two_  somethings flew out in a blur, grabbed Twilight and flew above the chaos of the crowd.

“ALRIGHT, EVERYONE LISTEN UP!”

The havoc slowly ground to a halt as everyone looked up to stare at the two beings.

They were both...unique, to say the least. For starters, they didn’t have any bodies or were even made of flesh and blood. They  appeared to be two bowling-ballesque spheres of stone that had glowing magical eyes looking out of them. Floating by each of them was a pair of disembodied stone hands. The first of them was colored a rusty, bloody red, and was gripping in his hands a disproportionately huge sword. The other one, a leafy green, was holding a clearly terrified Twilight Sparkle by her neck with a single hand.

“Greetings, everyone!” The red one spoke in a high-pitched squeaky male voice. “My name is Null the Crimson Knight!”

“And I’m Nix, the Verdant Witch!” The green one said in an equally high-pitched but female voice.

“As of this moment, all the ponies here are gonna stop fighting!”

“Otherwise,” Nix held her free hand up to Twilight’s throat. Her hand ignited in emerald flames, causing Twilight to squeal in fear. “The pretty purple pony gets it!”

“Do not tempt us people!” Null swung his sword around like it was a baton. “I’m small, short tempered, and I’ve got the compensation to prove it!”

Celestia stared up at them dully. “Nix and Null. The Golem Twins. Your personal assistants.”

Scholar nodded happily. “Yup! Swung by the statues, Discord says high by the way. All I had to do was give them a jolt and they were good as new. Now then,” He clapped his hands. “All the pieces are in play! It’s time for the game to begin! As always, white moves first. But, for the record...” His smile became pure evil. “I think you and I both know that there’s only one viable move right now. And for her sake,” He tilted his head towards the Golems. “I’d recommend you take it.”

Celestia stared at him silently. Slowly, she looked around.

She saw her little ponies cornered either by changelings or enchanted guards.

She saw the Wonderbolts, unconscious from electrocution.

She saw Cadance, sobbing miserably and Shining holding a barrier up to keep any aggressors away.

She saw Luna, ensnared by their own guards.

Their eyes met. For the longest moment, they stared at each other.

Finally, Luna closed her eyes and nodded.

Celestia nodded back and turned back to the board. She took a calming breath before lighting her horn up. Her own piece was engulfed in a golden aura.

Slowly, decisively, her own piece tilted backwards and fell down.

Scholar smiled and nodded happily. “Checkmate. I win.”

Suddenly, he shot to his feet and brought his fist down on the board, shattering it and sending the pieces flying.

He stared emotionlessly into Celestia’s eyes, his runes whipping around him.

“The time for games is over.” He said solemnly.

“Now is when things get serious.”

**To Be Continued...**


	8. Hostile Negotiations

The reception was frozen, all parties staring silently at the two most powerful beings present. One victorious, the other defeated.

Scholar and Celestia both bore stone-cold facades. Scholar’s was determined, Celestia’s was solemn.

They stared into each other’s eyes silently, until at last...

“What do you want, Scholar?” Celestia asked quietly.

“I already told you my long-term goals,” He said emotionlessly. “But I do have a new short-term,” His eyes narrowed viciously. “The Lexicon, Celestia. Now.”

Celestia opened her mouth, but he cut her off. “Before you try and lie to me about where it is, allow me to remind you that I ran out of patience centuries ago. The only valuable answers are yes and no. Lie, and the Twins go to work.”

The red golem chuckled sadistically from where he was floating, twirling the huge sword as though it were weightless. “Yeah. Please, test us! Do it, and you’ll end up with half a student.”

Twilight whimpered in fear.  _‘This can’t be happening, this can’t be happening-!’_

“Woah woah woah, hold up Null!” Nix interrupted. “I didn’t agree to this!”

“What!?” Null whipped around and glared at her. “The plan was that if Celestia refuses to cooperate, we make the brat go bye bye! Are you getting cold feet!?

Twilight looked up at her captor, hope in her eyes. Maybe, just maybe, everything would be alright.

“Hell no! I’m with you, I want to make her suffer!”

Then again, maybe not.

“My issue is with your means of dispatching her!” Nix’s hand lit up in flames again. “I want to immolate her, burn her alive nice and slowly, not just slice her up!”

“Wh- are you- URGH!” Null jerked the hand holding the sword. Somehow the huge blade was sucked away into his palm and out of sight. He wheeled around and looked down at Scholar. “We’re gonna need a minute.”

Scholar waved his hand casually. “Go ahead, I’ve got a feeling we’re going to be here awhile.”

“Good.” Null turned around and zipped up right next to his sister. “Nix, what the hell are you playing at?!”

“Me? What about you! The way you go on and on about cutting her up, oh please!”

“And what’s wrong with that!?”

“Burns are  _clearly_  superior to blades, duh!”

“I- _are you out of your mind!?_   _Nothing_  surpasses slitting a person’s throat! Blades!”

“Wrong! Charring the flesh off bones will never be beaten! Burns!”

“Blades!”

“Burns!”

“Blades!”

“Burns!”

Celestia groaned and facehoofed. “Scholar, this is  _insane!_ Please, make them stop.”

Scholar nodded in agreement. “Absolutely.” He looked up at them. “Nix! Null! You are being incredibly rude!”

“Sorry boss!”

“Immolation and bisection, shame on you!” He admonished. “Those means of execution are far too mundane! Be creative!”

“Yes boss!” They chorused.

Null flicked his hand, and from out of his palm shot a  _very_  large red syringe. “Exsanguination!”

Nix’s hand became covered in an icy green fog. “Frostbite!”

A large red ax. “Decapitation!”

Green lightning. “Electrocution!”

Celestia gave the grinning Scholar the evil eye. “That is  _not_  what I meant.”

“Don’t care! This is hilarious!”

“Hilarious!? They’re terrifying her!”

“As I said...”

“Uuuurgh...” Celestia shook her head in defeat. “You still know how to be obnoxious when you don’t like someone.”

Scholar became solemn again. “Two thousand years in the deepest darkest hole ever constructed doesn’t leave a lot of room for personality change.”

A tinge of sadness entered Celestia’s eyes. “Scholar...”

“Save it.” He cut her off. “I believe you were going to try and convince me to not utterly destroy you, hm?”

Celestia glanced at the crowd that was watching them fearfully. “Fine. But can we at least relocate to the throne room?”

Scholar slowly grinned ferally. “So you want some privacy, eh?”

The solar monarch paled, realizing her mistake. “Scholar, please-!”

He glanced at Chrysalis, still grinning. She smirked in return, her eyes momentarily flashing green. Then...

“OW! Get OFF of me you damn-!”

“When Ah get a hold of you, Ah’m gonna buck you straight over my barn!”

“Oh! P-please, e-excuse me...”

“This is  _not_  how you handle a lady!”

“WHEEE! Crowd surfing!”

“Ouch! Get off of me, you damn dirty insect!”

And without further ado, the remaining free Elements and Spike were shoved into the clearing in the crowd.

“Greetings, nuisances!” Scholar said gleefully.

“Ah, go buck yerself.” Applejack scowled.

“Darling, language!”

“Rarity, no offense- OUCH! YOU ARE GOING TO EAT HOOF, LARVA-BREATH! Urgh, we are  _way_ beyond that point,” Rainbow Dash growled.

“HA! What tipped you off,  _dweeb?”_  The pegasus’ jaw dropped as Gilda stomped up to them, grinning predatorily. “The point when I _totalled_  the Wonderbolts in ten seconds flat?”

Coincidentally, ten seconds flat was how long it took Rainbow Dash to regain her speech“ GILDA!? Wh-why the hell are you with him!?”

“What, a griffon can’t get some new friends? Talk about being a hypocrite!”

“Hmph! Indeed!” Trixie concurred as she trotted up alongside Gilda. “It’s no surprise that Trixie was able to show up such an uncouth ruffian!”

“You no good varmint!” Applejack growled. “I ain’t even  _surprised_  a bottom-feeder like you hooked up with these no-good changelin’s.”

“Oh please, like you’re one to talk! Hello, Appaloosa called, it wants it’s unseemly headwear back!”

“Why I oughta-YEOWCH! Watch it ya hard-shelled sack a’ manure!”

“Heh, Iron Will believes that you won’t be doing anything for awhile,” The minotaur chuckled. “Not while we have you.”

Fluttershy paled considerably at the sight of the huge being. “I-Iron W-W-Will...” She whimpered.

“Hmph.” He snorted derisively. “Still a doormat, hm? It really  _is_  a good thing you didn’t pay Iron Will.”

Celestia blinked in shock. “Wait, you all  _know_  these individuals?”

Rarity nodded hesitantly. “I-indeed your highness. Each of these ruffians has come to Ponyville on previous occasions, each bringing their own brand of trouble! But...we had no idea that they were associated with...him!”

Scholar raised an eyebrow at the trio. “Oh? And why were you three gallivanting around in their backwater, rundown, poverty-ridden-”

“We get it, you don’t like us!”

Trixie huffed arrogantly. “Trixie went to that two-bit shantytown because she heard that ‘her glorious solar majesty’-”

“You know that I neither ask anybody to call me that nor  _does_  anybody call me that, correct?”

“Button it! Anyways, Trixie heard that your apprentice was no longer surrounded by twenty-four seven guard, wards and six-foot thick walls, so Trixie thought she might as well take her chances and level the playing field a bit however she could!...next thing she knows, an Ursa Minor is knocking at her door and ends up making her homeless.”

Rainbow Dash chuckled mockingly. “Yeah, showed you! Hehehe-hurk!” She was cut off by the silver aura gripping her throat.

Trixie growled furiously. “Middle of the night, half asleep, and still keeping her true abilities under lock and key! The Enraged and  _Frankly Pissed Off_  Trixie would  _love_ to see you do better!”

Scholar coughed to grab her attention. “Um, Trixie? We already have a good hostage. Mind letting her go? She’s looking blue...er.”

Trixie snorted angrily and released the Element’s throat, leaving her to hack and wheeze.

Iron Will chuckled. “While Iron Will appreciates the enthusiasm, you have to admit it was somewhat half-assed.”

Trixie rolled her eyes at him. “Oh, and your little scam went perfectly.”

The minotaur shrugged indifferently. “Hey, at least Iron Will got the scent for Cerberus in the end.”

“Which failed!”

“How was Iron Will supposed to know that the Discord-dog liked belly rubs?!”

Scholar chuckled sheepishly. “Yeah, Cerberus is a real softie when you’re nice to him. Strangers he chews, friends he licks,” He sent a smirk at Celestia. “People who slap mind-control collars on him, he  _mauls.”_

The alicorn swallowed heavily. Powerful she might be, the anti-magic mutt was still a nightmare made real.

“Anyways,” He said, turning to the golden griffon. “What about you, Gilda?”

Gilda froze momentarily. In a moment of weakness, she momentarily glanced at Rainbow Dash before staring straight ahead. “Same as Trix. The most powerful and important pieces in Celestia’s kingdom? How the hell could I refuse?” She snapped her fingers in mock realization. “Oh, wait! Now I remember!” She jabbed a talon over her shoulder at Pinkie Pie who’d been gleefully using her a nearby Changeling as a mirror. “The pony that acts like she’s on a permanent lightning high!”

Rainbow Dash jerked against her captors trying to throttle the would-be Stormknight. “You rainbow-huffing feather-brained  _trai-!”_  She cut herself off when a gold-lined wing snapped itself beneath her chin,  _crackling_  with energy.

Gilda narrowed her eyes venomously at her. “Do you  _seriously_  want to test me?”

“Gilda! Again, we  _have_  a hostage!” Scholar intervened. “And unlike the ham-winged way you’re going about things, Nix and Null are handling her  _properly!”_

“Draw-and-quarter!”

“Poison!”

“Skinning!”

“Pure magic overload!”

Twilight was shivering uncontrollably in fear in Nix’s grasp. Finally, she regained enough sense through her panic to use her magic. Her horn lit up, preparing her teleport-

ZAP! “YEARGH!”

Right until Nix grabbed her horn with her free hand. Twilight yelped in pain as green energy danced over her body.

“Oooh, nice try purple!” Nix taunted, a smirk obvious in her voice. Twilight whimpered as she was hauled up by her neck so that the golem could stare her in the eye. Her tone suddenly became deadly. “But futile.”

“Hehehe,” Null chuckled ominously as he flew up close to her. “Yeah. Let us give you a little history lesson.”

“Scholar made us to be his go-to golems. In Concordia, we were the Pimp Hands of God.”

“ _Right_ Hands, damn it!”

“We’ll call ourselves whatever we want to be!” Null returned. “Anyways, we were his enforcers.”

“And as such,” Nix continued. “We had to be able to take down any opponent whatsoever, make sure that they couldn’t resist us.”

“For me, he gave me pocket dimensions in my hands,” Null flicked his hand again, withdrawing a  _huge_  hammer which he swung around effortlessly. “With my arsenal, there’s no physical opening I can’t exploit, no defense I can’t break through.”

“And he gave  _me_  pure energy control,” Nix said, lighting her free hand up. “So not only do I have a variety of energy-based attacks and spells literally on hand, but I can  _undo_  any magic easily. Spells? I cancel. Barriers? I shatter. Basically, anything you try? Doomed to failure. Got it?”

Twilight nodded silently, shivering the entire time.

“Good. Now, where were we?”

“Magic overload.”

“Oh, right! Drowning!”

“Branding!

“P-please...” Twilight whimpered. “J-just let me-!”

“Quiet!”

“We’re discussing how to best slaughter you!”

“As such, this conversation doesn’t concern you!”

Fluttershy shivered in fear as she listened to the horrifying conversation. She looked up at Scholar with big watery eyes. “P-please mister Scholar, can’t you just get them to be a bit more gentle? I-if it’s not too much trouble.”

Scholar stared at her for a second before cupping his chin in thought. “Chrysalis, how should I handle this? Above her by way of ‘talk to the hand’ or direct with a simple ‘screw off’?”

Fluttershy’s eyes wavered with unshed tears. “P-p-please...”

Scholar shrugged indifferently. “Ah screw it.” He stuck his hand in her face. “Talk to the hand.” He then moved the fingers up and down like a mouth, muttering ‘screw off’ out of the corner off his mouth.

Fluttershy swallowed heavily. “I-I’m s-sorry...I d-didn’t want to...”

Scholar blinked  in confusion before turning to look at her. “What are you-?” He cut off as he caught sight of Fluttershy.

Of her eyes.

They were... _pissed!_

She flared her wings and broke past the changelings holding her, flapping right into his face, looking him right in the eyes. “Tell those mean golems to let go of Twilight, then take your mean changelings and your mean friends and go away!” She said forcefully.

Scholar could feel it.

Dread, despair, misery. All life as he knew it, pointless.

And rage, such inestimable rage! Flowing into him!

It was like staring into the face of a vengeful god!

It was like staring into the depths of hell itself!

It was...it was...!

So very very  _very_  boring.

Scholar yawned casually. “Is that the best you got?”

Everyone watching who knew what the Stare was dropped their jaws in shock. Fluttershy especially faltered. “H-h-HURK!”

She was cut off by Scholar engulfing her throat and crushing her windpipe with his hand. “Because seriously,” He smirked viciously. “That’s just  _pathetic.”_

Celestia paled beneath her coat. “Scholar-!”

“Whaaaat?” Scholar asked casually. “I’m just saying that her ‘look of death’ needs a bit of work is all! Is that so much to ask? Saaaay,” His smirk grew to positively feral proportions. “Maybe I should give her a little demonstration, hmm?”

“Scholar, please, I’m begging you!” Celestia pleaded desperately. “I’ll give you the Lexicon, I’ll give you every artifact in the vaults, just don’t do it!”

“Mmm...nope!” Scholar exclaimed. “I am going to show her how it’s done! It’s a matter of pride!” He turned back to the shivering Fluttershy. “Now then...” He leaned in close, face to muzzle with her, her terrified eyes staring into the discs of light that were his glasses. “You’re going to feel a  _slight_  tingling sensation...followed by most of your senses shutting down from pure, unadulterated fear.”

Before anyone could move, his free hand was at his glasses and he’d lifted them onto his forehead, staring into Fluttershy’s eyes unabated.

**Rage.**

**Fire.**

**Power.**

**Pain.**

**Wrath.**

**Burning.**

**Burning.**

**Burning.**

Fluttershy was shivering uncontrollably as though in the middle of a seizure, foam dripping from her mouth as she stared into the supernovas that were Scholar’s eyes.

“FLUTTERSHY!” The rest of the Elements cried out.

“LET HER GO!” Rainbow Dash cried out, struggling against her changelings.

“Scholar,  _enough!”_ Celestia cried out, all but crying.

Scholar held the stare for a second more before shrugging indifferently. “Fine, fine, whatever. He slipped his glasses back on and dropped Fluttershy. She lay on the ground, shuddering frenziedly. He chuckled as he looked down at her. “Ah, nothing like giving out a healthy dose of existential despair!”

Gilda whistled appreciatively as she watched the pony all but have a stroke. “Neat. Any chance of me trying some of that?”

“Depends, do you want to feel your soul crushed in the icy yet infernal hands of a wrathful god?” Chrysalis asked sarcastically.

“...”

“Gilda?”

“I’m thinking!”

“That does  _not_  fill me with confidence.”

“HEY!” Scholar raised an eyebrow as a pink pony bounced up and glared at him through his glasses. “That was really mean! You’re nothing but a big fat party-crashing meanie!”

The human smirked at her mischievously. “Yes, yes I  _am_  a meanie.” He brought his hand up to his glasses. “Do you want to see just how big of a meanie I can be?”

Pinkie froze for a moment before swallowing heavily. She plastered a nervous smile on her face. “How about instead we see how the comic relief are doing? Guys?”

Nix’s hands were lit up like an emerald barbeque again, Null was holding a  _very_  big red spear, and Twilight just looked sick.

“You  _already_  suggested immolation you moron!”

“This is  _not_  immolation! Immolation means that we reduce her flesh to ashes in seconds, burning her alive means that it’s slower and she feels every second of it!”

“It still isn’t as good as impaling her! That way, she’s left to struggle and writhe as she watches her blood slowly drip down the shaft! Jiggle her around a bit and her intestines will be hanging too!”

“But what about the  _smell?_  The smell of cooking flesh, how can you surpass that!?”

“Easily thanks to how it protrudes from her back-!”

“ENOUGH!”

All attention shifted from the golems’ morbid argument to a huffy Pinkie Pie. The two zipped up to her and looked her in the eyes.

“What the hell are you talking about?” They chorused.

Pinkie pouted angrily and glared at them. “You two are supposed to be brother and sister, right?”

The both of their eyes twitched as they glanced at each other angrily.

“Not by choice.”

“For once we agree.”

“Then stop arguing!” She cried out! “You’re siblings! Siblings are supposed to love and support each other! You’re better together than you could ever be apart!”

For the longest time, Nix and Null were silent. Then, their eyes softened and they looked at each other calmly.

“She’s right.”

“Yeah, I’ll admit to it.”

Pinkie smiled happily. “Great! Say, would you mind-?”

“I mean, our best work has always been together!”

“Remember the way we took down that fully-armored centaur in the Briar Timberlands?”

“I stunned him with my lightning."

“And I slammed the top half of his head off with my war club, right!”

Cold sweat began to trail down Pinkie’s coat. “Uh, guys?...that sounds great, but...”

“And I’m sure we could do better here!”

“Yeah! We can come up with a great way of killing this unicorn, together!”

Pinkie’s eye twitched. “Guys?”

“Alright, your plan is to run her through...”

“And yours is to set her on fire...”

“So if we combine them...”

“Then we impale her...”

“...and roast her...”

Nix and Null trailed off as they stared at each other. Slowly, an eager spark came into their eyes.

“We can cook her alive!” They cried out eagerly. They looked back at Pinkie happily. “Thanks’ Pinkie Pie!”

“You’re welcome!”

“PINKIE!”

The pink pony flinched. “Woops, sorry Twilight...”

“I’m so happy we’re in agreement!” Nix squealed happily. “So, we’ll run her through, cook her, take the spear out-”

“Woah woah woah, why would we take the spear out?”

“Um, hello? How  _else_  do we make a flambé?”

“Flambé!? Ew, yuck! No way we’re making her a flambé!”

_“What!?_ Then what the hell do  _you_  want to make her?!

“A kebab! Obviously!”

_“WHAT!?!”_ Nix screeched. “You’re mad! Flambés are clearly superior!”

“Kebabs are eaten with  _sticks!_ One does not surpass eating with sticks!”

“What one does not surpass is food that’ son  _fire!_ Flambés are better!”

“No, kebabs are!”

“Flambé!”

“Kebab!”

“Fla-!”

“Why...”

The two cut off their mounting tirade when they heard the quiet voice. They looked down at Twilight.

“Huh?”

“You say something, main course?”

“Why...” She whimpered. “Why are you doing all of this?”

The Golem Twins’ eyes glinted mischievously.

“Ooooh, now isn’t  _that_  a good question.” Nix cooed.

“One with a nice, long, complicated answer. A very  _old_  answer.” Null concurred.

The two tilted their head/bodies towards Scholar.

“Whaddaya say boss?”

“Mind if we recite your biography?”

The Rune Keeper shrugged. “Sure, why not? It’ll be nice to dredge up the past,” He glared at a visibly nervous Celestia. “It’ll upset those who wish for it to remain buried.”

The Twin’s eyes glinted again. “Perfect!” They chorused.

“Now then, listen up, boys and girls.”

“Ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages, your attention please!”

“What we are about to tell you is one hundred percent true!”

“The story of the first empire upon Mundus!”

“The story of the arrival of Scholar!”

“The story of the rise!”

“And the fall!”

“Of Concordia!” The finished in harmony.

“Now, let’s start at the beginning...”

“Long, long ago, there lived a very powerful mage.”

“The mage was an intellectual, a magic scientist, who loved knowledge above all else!”

“He scoured his world for all knowledge of magic, seeking it out from varying cultures and species.”

“However, he eventually  _outpaced_  the knowledge, learning so much that the world grew boring to him.”

“So he came up with a brilliant plan!”

“If the world he was on held no more mysteries...”

“Then maybe another would!”

“And so the mage used his vast magic and knowledge and performed a feat none had ever done before!”

“He traveled to a new world!”

“It was all he had hoped for!”

“New people!”

“New magic!”

“New knowledge!”

“Once more he traveled, his life extended thanks to his skill in his craft."

“But eventually, he once anew learned all there was to know.”

“So once more, he traveled!”

“And so it went!”

“From world to world!”

“Universe to universe!”

“Until one day, long long ago."

“Over two thousand years to be precise!”

“He landed here!”

“On Mundus! Well, you guys call it Equus, which is  _completely_ wrong,” The two took a moment to glare venomously at Celestia.

“But anyways, the point stands!”

“When he arrived here, he knew that Mundus was unlike any other world he had visited!”

“It was  _filled_  with magic! The air, the water, even the earth itself!”

“And the species! So many different kinds, so many different ways of life!”

“Back then, conflict was extremely common.”

“Griffons and minotaurs clashed, giants and titans battled, the undead waged war against the dragons."

“And so on and so forth.”

“But the mage cared not for their battles, he desired their magics!”

“And so, he traveled amongst the species, learning their ways, their ancient knowledge, and showing them his.”

“He had done this many times before, but this time, something peculiar happened!”

“He made friends!”

“Sure, some relations were strained, tenuous at most."

“But the connection was present."

“He somehow found people with whom he was willing to trust his life.”

“And who were willing to entrust their lives to him in turn.”

“Eventually, the mage learned all there was to learn.”

“Once anew, he prepared to leave."

“But he found he could not!”

“When he tried to cast the spell, his heart ached!”

“The thought of leaving his friends was unbearable!”

“Unthinkable!”

“Impossible!”

“And what pained him even worse was how his friends fought with each other.”

“No longer could he stand by and watch as war was waged."

“No longer could he allow blood to be shed!”

“And so, the mage acted.”

“It was no small feat. He had to bring his many friends together, have them work together, learn to tolerate each other,  _trust_  each other.”

“It was difficult. The wounds were many, the scars ran deep.”

“But slowly."

“Surely."

“He did it.”

“His friends began to become friends with each other.”

“Wars began to slow, and eventually, they ground to a halt.”

“At the mage’s prompting, the species actually began to band together.”

“Talon joined with claw, fang joined with hoof, scale joined with fur.”

“And so many others!”

“It took years."

“It took blood."

“And sweat."

“And tears."

“But eventually, the result was met.”

“There was peace.”

“There was unity.”

“There was Concordia.”

“Led and protected by the Thirteen Oligarchs who founded it.”

“And taught and governed by an organization of the mage’s devising.”

“The Academia Arcana.”

“An institution that accepted members of all races.”

“And whose sole purpose was to collect, protect and propagate all knowledge.”

“And to utilize said knowledge in every way possible to protect the innocent.”

“For the longest time, all was well.”

“War no longer ravaged the land."

“Little to no conflict was to be found.”

“It was the closest the world would be to a utopia.”

“Some said it would last for eternity.”

“Some said that it would never be forgotten.”

“They were wrong.”

“Concordia was betrayed from within.”

“Cast down into the abyss by three who had aided it.”

“Three who had sworn to protect it.”

The two glared once anew at Celestia, this time including Luna and Cadance in their ire. “Three who had helped found it,” They intoned darkly.

Celestia swallowed heavily. “Nix, Null, look, you don’t-!”

SHINK! “EEP!”

Twilight shivered violently as she tilted her head up, doing her utmost best to distance her neck from the red barber’s razor the was tickling her fur.

“My apologies,” Null said dully. “I get twitchy whenever someone interrupts us. Now may I continue?”

Celestia nodded silently.

“Great! Now then...”

“The betrayal was by no means wholly unexpected.”

“For a long time, the traitors had been acting...twitchy. Everyone knew that something was amiss, just not what.”

“Finally, one day, it all came to a point.”

“The land of the traitors, Equestria, was  _flooded_  with a corrupt brand of magic known as harmony.”

“Harmony had many effects on the world. It stilled the land, halting the blowing of the wind, the raging of the rivers, and even the growth of the plants.”

“The land was domesticated, shackled, only allowed to move at the whims of the species of the traitors, the ponies.”

“However, as  _horrifying_  as this action was to the rest of Concordia, there was another effect of the harmony that was  _far_  worse.”

“It  _poisoned_  the other species who came into contact with it, inhibiting them from naturally absorbing magic from the air, suffocating them and driving them into a profound slumber.”

“Some, such as the minotaurs and the griffons, managed to remain conscious.”

“But at what cost? Their magic was robbed of them!”

“The minotaur could no longer delve into the earth, the griffons could no longer manipulate the air and lightning to their whims as they once had!”

“Even the ponies themselves were limited, with many of their old arts no longer within their reach.”

“Those within the harmony lived little more than a life in chains.”

“The other Oligarchs of Concordia were furious!”

“Such blatant transgressions could  _not_  be left unpunished!”

“All of the Oligarchs were up in arms to  _lynch_  the traitors.”

“All of them. Save for the mage.”

“He advocated a peaceful approach. He stated that the traitors should be brought to stand trial fairly, as common criminals.”

“But before he could go before them and tell them of this decision, another of the Oligarchs went mad.”

“Discord, the Spirit of Chaos, was deeply disturbed by the harmony. He went on a rampage, devastating Equestria, and many lands beyond.”

“In the end, he failed. Petrified by the traitor’s harmony and placed on display.”

“At the time, the other Oligarchs were forced to abandon their plans of retribution to rectify the damages wrought by Discord’s fury.”

“But unknown to them, the traitors had come to a decision.”

“When the mage came to their home to try and bring them to justice, he was unprepared for what would come next.”

“Upon his arrival, he was apprehended, convicted, and imprisoned.”

“Then, the traitors began the unthinkable.”

“They began to spread their harmony beyond their borders, poisoning the entire world with their invisible miasma.”

“Without the mage, the remaining Oligarchs fell into disarray, reviving old conflicts and arguments.”

“Concordia died a long, slow, painful death.”

“And throughout it’s fragmentation, the traitors sealed each species one by one.”

“The Oligarchs and all other species were imprisoned. Laid to sleep and eternal slumber.”

“All fought against them, but some more so than others. Some fought fiercely, unrelentingly to the very last.”

“When all other magics were entrapped, the traitors at last turned their attention to the mage.”

“They built a prison of enormous capabilities, impenetrable both magically and physically.”

“They sealed him away, locking him up for all eternity.”

“Because they knew, they  _knew_  that if he ever escaped-”

“That there would be hell to pay.” Scholar finished icily as he glared at Celestia.

The alabaster alicorn tried to speak, but the golems weren’t finished.

“Anyways! The triple-breed bitches got their hands on us and sealed us when we tried to break Scholar out.”

“Yeah, save that they kind of screwed the whole thing up.”

“Two thousand years we were sealed up.  _Conscious!”_

“The first hundred years were the worst.”

“The second hundred years were the worst too.”

“We didn’t like the third hundred years at all.”

“After that, it all went into a bit of a downward spiral.”

“We went insane!”

“Then sane again.”

“Then I went insane and she went sane.”

“Then _I_  went insane and  _he_  went sane.”

“Then we were koalas for awhile.”

“See, that is  _completely_  insane! There is no way that we were koalas!”

“Then explain the urge to eat eucalyptus leaves!”

“Simple, we were great gliders!”

“Oh for- you moron! The eucalyptus was our primary food!”

“Then how about  _you_  explain the instinct to climb a tree and glide away from predators!?”

“Urgh. You are unbelievable!”

“ _Anyways!_  Now we’re completely sane!”

“Yup! Nothing insane about us here!”

“Now then, shut up and let us get back to discussing how to cook you alive! Kebab!”

“Flambé!”

“Kebab!”

“Flambé!”

“And  _that’s_  how Equestria was made!” Gilda said snidely.

The Element bearers didn’t hear her. They were too busy staring at Celestia in horror.

“P-princess...is this true?” Rarity stammered.

“P-princess Celestia?” Twilight asked, her voice full of tears.

The princess was sweating like a pig, glancing around nervously. “I- Scholar, there were a lot of circumstances-!”

“Ah ah ah ah!” Scholar held his finger up. “You know what I’m hearing? A lot of you not giving me my uber-powerful grimoire and consequently condemning your student to a fate as a...hey guys, how we doing on that?”

“We’ve decided to compromise on a roast!” Nix said.

“We’re now arguing on the fruit toppings!” Null added.

“I suggest the classic apple!” She continued defiantly.

“And I propose the far more new-age banana!” Null waved around the yellow fruit.

“The apple is  _traditional!_  And it’s delicious!”

“The banana is far more superior! It’s an excellent source of potassium!”

“Buck that! Apples’ll always be way better than any of yer confounded bananas!”

“APPLEJACK!”

“Er, sorry Twi’.”

“Why do you even  _have_  a banana?!”

“Because it’s a party!”

“What the hell does that have to do with anything?!”

“You  _always_  bring a banana to a party!”

“ _Thank_  you!” A brown pony in the middle of the crowd cried out.

Scholar smirked at the Alicorn. “As you can see, it would be in your best interests to get me that book. And soon, I’m beginning to feel a bit _peckish_.”

**“ENOUGH!”**

Everyone whipped around and stared at the origin of the shout.

“Oh? You got something to say, Luna?” Scholar asked calmly.

The dark Alicorn’s horn lit up blue and tossed away the ponies holding her down. Her entire being ignited with power as she glared at him venomously.

“No more of this, you scoundrel!” she growled. “We shall end you, here and now!”

Chrysalis and the Magisters awakened their magic, preparing for conflict...

Right up until Scholar held up his hand, waving them down. He smirked at her. “Oh? And you’re going to...what? Strike me down?”

Luna growled angrily. “Most  _painfully.”_

Scholar was silent for a second before chuckling. “Go ahead.”

Luna’s magic faltered. “What!?”

Everyone else stared at him in shock. “ _What!”_

“You heard me.” He smirked. “Strike me down. I won’t stop you!...on one condition.”

Luna narrowed her eyes as her magic flared at the challenge. “Name it.”

His smirk became feral. “Don’t hold back.”

The blue light broke off in shock. “...w-what?” She stammered.

“I repeat: you heard me. Full. Power,” His glasses glinted malevolently. “The same way you devastated that Night Demon army on the Obsidian Plains.”

Luna’s pelt paled violently. “N-no...”

“Yes,” He stood up, the illumination from his runes angling  _just_  so to cover him in shadows. “There’s only one way to get me. End the Dream.” His expression would have made the devil himself piss in fear. “Begin the Nightmare.”

Luna shivered violently as she took a step back. “I...n-no, I-!”

“Can’t, huh?” Scholar chuckled mirthlessly. “That’s what I thought. How you’ve always been. Suuure, you can be vindictive at times, but end of the day? You always screw up at the last moment. Come on, Luna! DO IT!”

She swallowed heavily, her magic flickering like a dying torch.

Scholar was relentless, his runes becoming vicious. “Do it, Luna! Do it, or I swear to you I will find the Lexicon. I will leave this place and I will burn your world to the ground! Your culture, your people,  _all of it!”_ He took a menacing step forwards, his arms spread wide, presenting her with a target.“Strike me down Luna, or watch the world  _burn!”_

Luna swallowed heavily, glancing around for an escape.

**“Do it!”**

That did it.

Luna loosed a feral growl, her lips pulling back in rage. Her entire body shone like a supernova as she levitated off the ground.

“Luna!” Celestia cried out fearfully.

The protest went ignored as she levitated even higher. Slowly, dark smoke began to pool and swirl around her, raising up to encase her in a pillar of smoke. The magic darkened from silver to a deep, dark purple.

Scholar chuckled venomously. “That’s it, Luna. End the Dream.”

Slowly, the smoke coalesced. It took the form of the front half of an alicorn. Dark magic shone out of the eyes as black wings flared out, shadowing the crowd. The form threw it’s head back and whinnied in rage as it stared down at it’s foe.

“Begin the Nightmare.”

Magic illuminated the wispy horn in dark light as magic charged, preparing to blast Scholar.

Before it fired, the nightmarish pony caught sight of Scholar smirking victoriously.

It caught sight of Celestia staring up at her in horror.

It caught sight of all the ponies watching her with fear.

Finally, the magic reached it’s apex. It brought it’s horn to bear, preparing to blast him.

At long last...

The clouds collapsed inwards in an explosion of smoke and energy. When the clouds dissipated, all that was left was Luna, sobbing miserably.

“We...We can’t...We can’t do it...We can’t...” She cried.

The crowd stared in horror, all of them paralyzed by the sight.

Everyone, that is, save for Scholar.

“As I thought,” He said quietly walking up to her. “You might speak a big game, but in the end, you will  _always_  balk.”

Luna sobbed miserably. She’d tried, she’d tried so  _hard_ , but in the end, she just couldn’t summon the Nightmare. She...she just couldn’t.

Slowly, fingers placed themselves beneath her chin and lifted her head. Through her tears she met Scholar’s eyes. They were filled with pity.

“I want you to remember something,” He whispered. “When this world burns in the flames of rage, when your ponies scream in fear and pain. When the seas run red with blood and the skies burn crimson, I want you to remember.”

Suddenly his hand whipped around her muzzle, gripping it shut as he leaned in, his expression and runes twisted into a representation of pure rage.  _“It was all your fault,”_ He hissed. “You could have stopped it all. You could have stopped  _me._  But you didn’t. When this world dies, remember: it dies...”

He leaned in, right next to her ear, and whispered harshly.

_“Because you were a coward.”_

With those parting words, Scholar released Luna, leaving her to collapse to the ground and sob miserably.

Trixie worked her jaw, trying to find something to say. “I...er, that was...”

“Holy shit!” Gilda exclaimed. “That was harsh!”

“You can attribute it to my patience running thin,” Scholar replied icilly. He turned around and faced Celestia once more, his expression absolutely frigid. “This is your last chance, Celestia. Give me the Lexicon De Arcana. Now.”

Celestia was silent for the longest time before bowing in defeat, her mane obscuring her sorrowful visage in shadows. “I can’t.”

Scholar stared at her emotionlessly. “So be it. I’ll just retrieve it myself.”

The Alicorn whipped her head up and stared at him in confusion and distress. “Wait, you-!?”

“I already know where it is,” He finished. “Yes, I knew when we arrived here. The whole point of this endeavor was to proffer to you a final chance at redemption. Congratulations, you failed spectacularly.”

Celestia was speechless, staring at him in horror.

“Now then,” Scholar continued. “Allow me to demonstrate that my capabilities have not been diminished over the years.”

With that statement, he flung his arms out, runes swirling actively around them both. To the shock and mounting horror of the ponies present, the stone walls that enclosed them suddenly lit up with larger and more complex series of runes.

It took a few seconds for the proper synapses in Celestia’s brain to fire, but when they did she paled visibly.

“A Venti Canis Array,” She whispered in terror.

“Indeed,” Scholar responded. “I’d say that a nice buffet of fear will hit the spot.”

Light poured out of the runes and filled the entire area, engulfing the crowd. Once it faded, the ponies were staggering and shaking their heads, trying to clear their heads of the fog that had overcome them.

Scholar had also been affected. He had been glowing with magic before, but now he shone like a lighthouse, magic blazing out of him. His runes were little more than blurs of light as they orbited his being.

**“Now, for the end of an era,”** Scholar stated darkly. He raised his arms, sending his runes high into the air and generating a pulse of magic.

CRASH!

Celestia’s eyes widened as the sound of shattering glass rang out from Canterlot Castle. “Oh no...”

Scholar smirked in mock sympathy.  **“It’s not your fault. It was actually quite smart! But there was something you didn’t know...”**

Suddenly, several small flecks of light zipped down and stopped directly in front of him. Now that their motion had stopped, it was plain to see that the flecks were actually...

“Glass?” Spike asked dumbfounded.

**“Bingo.** _**Stained** _ **glass to be exact.”**

A veritable flurry of glass flew down, freezing and snapping into varying positions in front of Scholar.

**“See, it was so close to my lab that all the explosions were shaking bits and pieces out. And seeing how it always took** **_forever_ ** **to find them, I enchanted the whole thing with a tracking array. So when I got close and sensed** **_that_ ** **here? For what other reason would you have displayed, albeit in pieces, in your throne room?”**

The last of the glass shards flew down and affixed themselves into place.

Standing erect before Scholar was a stained-glass rendition of himself. It mirrored him accurately, displaying his robes, his runes, even his glasses. But most important of all was his position. His left hand was raised as though he were lecturing a crowd, and in his right he held a large book with rune-engraved covers, letters pouring out of it’s open pages.

The light surrounding Scholar died down as he cut down on the flow of magic. He smiled nostalgically as he raised his hand and gently brushed the window. “It’s been so long,” He whispered. “The last time I saw this was the last time I left Vitrum,” His smile died slowly as he took several steps back and stared at it. “Shame to destroy it.”

He flung his arm out, casting a flurry of runes into the window.

A moment of silence.

Then...

CRACK!

A huge crack spiderwebbed out, originating from the book and spreading across the entire thing.

Scholar gestured once with his hand.

It all happened in slow motion.

From out of the window smashed the book depicted. It was a little less than a foot wide, a little more than a foot long, and almost half a foot thick. On the covers and running down the spine were several glowing arrays. It flew straight into Scholars right hand, glass shards glistening as they flew around him.

Once in his hand, the grimoire snapped open and the pages began flipping endlessly, runes spewing out of it like a geyser.

Scholar floated into the air as the runes surrounding him evolved from a small flock to a large cloud.

Iron Will stared in awe at the sight. “Incredible...”

Chrysalis smirked happily. “You think this is good? This is nothing. He’s just getting back up to normal standards.”

Scholar raised his free hand. To his left, the runes  swirled into a huge, powerful Array that flashed with magic before fading from sight. Then another appeared to his right. Then another in front, behind, above and below. More and more, on every side.

_‘No!’_ Celestia mentally screamed. She lit her horn up with golden light, aiming it at him, trying for a final time to strike Scholar down.

The Rune Keeper whipped around, whipping his hand from his grimoire to the air in front of him. Another Array materialized instantly in front of him, shining down upon Celestia.

Scholar spoke, his voice drowning in pure magic.  **“Third Psalm of the Olympian Pantheon: Binding of Helios!”** The shards of glass that had been following Scholar snapped into several spears of magic and glass. They lanced down, directly at the Alicorn.

SHINK!

“CELESTIA!” Twilight screamed in fear.

The fear was unfortunately unneccessary. The arcane spears had very narrowly missed her, close enough to brush her, imprison her, halt any movements, but not run her through.

Finally, Scholar snapped the book shut singlehandedly, a gigantic, final wave of arcane energy washing outwards from himself. He dropped to the ground, landing squarely in front of Celestia. He glared down at her imperiously and gripped her horn. The Alicorn flinched in pain.

“I could end you,” He intoned darkly. “Here and now, I could snap your neck like a twig.”

Celestia stared up at him in fear. All of the ponies stared at him in pure horror and terror.

Finally...

He released her horn and stepped back, settling with glaring at her. “Nix! Null!”

“We have decided on a well-done roast with a combination of apple and banana toppings.”

“Seasoned with oregano, cilantro, and paprika!”

“It sounds delicious. Put it in a cookbook and save it for later,” Scholar gestured with his hand, the Lexicon briefly flashing before a pillar of light and runes coalesced behind him. “We’re leaving.”

“Awww!” Null groaned as he stowed the spear he’d been brandishing.

“Too bad!” Nix lamented sadly. “Ah well! Bye bye pony!” She tossed Twilight away.

The purple pony grunted in pain as she landed on the unforgiving ground.

Chrysalis’s eyes flashed green as she spoke commandingly. “Come along, kids! Party’s over!” The changelings released their captives and began to stream through the pillar-like portal.

Rainbow Dash, once released, snarled furiously, flapping her wings and shooting at Scholar like a cannonball. “YOU BAS-YEARGH!”

She screamed in pain as a Rune Array faded into view almost five feet from Scholar’s body and zapped her, sending her careening off and leaving her smoking like her idoled Wonderbolts.

The human mage eyed her dispassionately. “How barbaric.”

Gilda laughed morosely at her old friend’s fate. “What can you do? Rainbow Dash will be Rainbow Dash,” And with that statement, she strode through the light.

Trixie flourished her cape as she prepared to leave. “The Majestic and Victorious Trixie bids you all farewell!” She called out as she stepped out.

Iron Will tromped into the portal silently.

Chrysalis stood by silently, waiting for Scholar.

The Rune Keeper swept his gaze out over the crowd. “The next time I return here,” He said darkly. “It will be to burn Canterlot to the ground.”

He turned around, beginning to stride for the portal, but a voice stopped him in his tracks.

“Scholar...”

He slowly turned around and stared at Celestia. She was gazing at him mournfully, fighting against the magical bonds that were keeping her down.

A moment of silence. Then...

“I’m sorry,” She whispered, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Scholar remained unmoved. “Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn,” He replied coolly.

With those final parting words, he left, Chrysalis and the Golem Twins following along.

The pillar of light dissipated, and so did Celestia’s bonds.

In the middle of the crowd, in the middle of all of her frightened and confused subjects, Princess Celestia, Solar Diarch of Equestria,  _Sol Invictus..._

Cried silent tears of regret.

**To Be Continued...**


	9. Full Steam Ahead!

It had been almost a week since the invasion of Canterlot. The invaders had relocated themselves to the changeling hive and had been waiting there ever since. But most assuredly their tasks were of the utmost importance.

“The Ennuied and Weary Trixie is  _boooored!”_

Then again, maybe not.

Trixie, Gilda and Iron Will were sitting in an open area of the hive, waiting impatiently as time meandered by. All around them changelings silently bustled about, performing whatever chores and tasks Chrysalis assigned them and communicating telepathically. Two millennia of neglect hadn’t been kind to the hive, so there was a lot of maintenance to be done, tunnels to be re-opened and section to be restored. Scholar’s assistants were floating above them.

“We get it already!” Null groused.

“Yeah! You’ve only been moaning it for the past  _days!”_  Nix added exasperatedly.

Gilda snorted derisively. “Yeah? That doesn’t make it any less true!”

Iron Will nodded. “Agreed. We’ve just been waiting here and we haven’t made a move!”

The Golems were silent for a moment before sighing despondently.

“Yeah.”

“We know.”

“But it’s not our fault!”

“Scholar’s doing some important stuff!”

“Oh yeah?” Gilda griped. “Like what!?”

“Well, for starters, he’s seeing what kind of resources we’ve got!”

“You know, how many other members of the Academia are out there, how many artifacts are still around, that stuff!”

Iron Will flinched at that. “Yeah, that will probably take awhile. After spending so long hiding, we’ve gotten really good at it. Scholar might have come back, but now the Guard has redoubled their watch for any members of the Academia. They’ll be scared out of their minds and digging themselves as deep a hole as they can.”

Nix nodded in agreement. “Yeah, that’s what we thought.”

“And then there’s the second thing too.”

Trixie raised her head and glowered at them. “And by second thing, Trixie assumes you mean-”

BOOM!

The trio flinched and the changelings froze in fear. The muffled sound of an explosion erupted from deep within the hive, shaking the walls and causing a cloud of dust to fall to the floor. After a minute, the changelings picked themselves up and went back to their tasks.

“That,” The unicorn ground out.

“Yup.”

“Pretty much.”

Gilda growled in frustration. “For Aeolus’s sake! It’s been a week and he’s still tearing the ground up!”

“Well what can you do?” Nix asked sadly.

“Yeah,” Null concurred. “He’s got two thousand years of temper stored up and he had to let the best possible targets go or risk destroying the world!”

“And this entire situation has him pretty pissed too.”

“Especially because...well, you know.”

Gilda blinked before turning around to gaze at them curiously. “No, actually, we don’t.”

“Indeed!” Trixie added. “What are you two referencing?”

The Twins glanced at each other, for a second before floating towards a nearby tunnel and motioning at the trio. “Follow us,” They chorused.

The trio got up and slowly followed them, Iron Will ducking to avoid the low ceiling.

“As you can see,” The magic-golem said. “This place, Endos, while sturdy, is  _not_ built for anybody who  _isn’t_  a changeling.”

“The changelings interacted with others via a trade city built above the hive named Exos,” Her brother continued. “Unfortunately, time wasn’t as kind to it as it was to the hive.”

“To put things simply, Endos  _isn’t_ a good base of operations.”

“If it were in it’s prime? With a little work, maybe.”

“But as it is? No.”

“Scholar’s first move upon getting back was to try and locate a more suitable headquarters.”

“ _The_  headquarters, which we had always used.”

The Twins sighed wistfully. “Vitrum.”

Gilda snapped her talons as she searched her memories. “Hang on, hang on, I know this one. Vitrum, the... Luxurious Jewel of Concordia, right?”

“Radiant Jewel, but same basic idea,” Nix said.

“Scholar all but  _built_  Vitrum, put it together from the ground up!” Null continued.

“It was our capital!”

“The nerve center of the entire world!”

“But when he tried to find it...”

“That’s where things went wrong...”

Trixie tried to ask what they meant, but was interrupted before she could speak. “We’re here,” The two chorused simultaneously.

And indeed, they had arrived at their destination. The trio were now standing on a stone catwalk  that ran around the circumference of the stone room, as well as multiple circles of runes. Below them on the ground was a raised circular platform that had an intricate Rune Array engraved upon it. Hanging above the center of the dais was an obsidian stalactite that also had runes running across it.

Iron Will whistled appreciatively as he looked around. “Iron Will is impressed. This is some serious magic. Something about...observation?”

“Gold star to the bull,” Nix said.

“This is the Omnisciens Camera Obscura,” Null concluded.

Trixie blinked in surprise as she translated the name. “Omniscient Dark Room? Trixie understands the purpose of the latter two words, but the first escapes her.”

“Because,” Nix said as her hands lit up with green energy. Before her fingers appeared a glowing array of runes. She tapped one of them decisively. “Of this.”

The glyphs that covered the room lit up with magic. The black crystal was especially powerful, runes floating around it for a moment. Suddenly, they all condensed into the stalactite before a beam of light shot down to the dais below. There was a blinding flash of light, and then...

“Woah...” The trio of magisters breathed as they gazed down at the sight before them.

Where once there was only stone was now a luminescent image, a holographic representation that displayed what was obviously the Badlands that were at least a mile above them.

“Holy shit, is this real time?” Gilda asked quietly.

Null nodded proudly, his hands placed upon imaginary hips. “Yup!”

Nix giggled as she looked it over. “And we can change the view too! Look!” She tapped on the runic keyboard again.

The image became blurry before refocusing into a town made primarily of wood that had ant-like ponies walking around. “Dodge Junction.”

It turned blurry once more before coalescing into a large expanse of trees. “Everfree Forest.”

Blur and then a familiar and colorful community. “Even Ponyville!”

Gilda’s eye twitched as she watched a blue speck zip around through the clouds. “ _Why_  exactly are you showing this to us?” She asked irritably.

The golems’ perky attitude withered. “Zooming out and relocating,” Nix said emotionlessly as she tapped on the glyphs again.

She and Null turned around as the holograms blurred anew. “We can’t look, it’s too painful,” Null moaned.

The magic constructs coalesced and the three onlookers gasped in shock.

“I know, it’s horrible isn’t it?” Nix lamented.

“Simply dreadful,” Null agreed.

“Are you two out of your stone heads!?” Gilda demanded.

“This- it’s-” Trixie stammered.

“Beautiful...” Iron Will breathed.

The Golem Twins jerked in surprise. “BEAUTIFUL!?” They demanded simultaneously.

“What the hell is beautiful about a  _barren!”_

_“Desolate!”_

“WASTE-!” They whipped around in synch, but froze at what they saw. “...land?” They finished lamely.

The scene before them was anything  _but_ what they had described _._  What lay spread out before them was a metropolis. Vast, sprawling and intricate in design, constructed from a wide array of the purest of crystals. In the exact center of it, towering above all else was a massive tower of diamonds, supported by a trio of legs.

“That wasn’t there an hour ago,” Nix whispered numbly.

Null’s reaction was more violent. He quickly jerked his hand and produced a huge megaphone.  _ **“BOOOOOOOOOOOOSS!”**_ He bellowed at the top of his non-existent lungs.

There was a flash of green light and Chrysalis were there. “Null, I told you I didn’t want to be disturbed!” Scholar growled irritably. “So what the helllllllooooo Vitrum!” He trailed off as he looked down.

“I know, right!?”

“We just checked!”

Scholar worked his jaw for a second before whipping around to face Chrysalis, eyes set in determination. “We need to get up there, before Celestia becomes aware of this!”

Chrysalis opened her mouth to say something, but shut it with a growl when her eyes flashed green. “Unfortunately, that will prove to be a problem,” She snarled. “One of my infiltrators up north just reported that the base he’s in noticed. They’ve already sent a message. She knows.”

Scholar’s grip on the Lexicon grew tighter. “They have a headstart on us, they’re closer, and it’s too far for either of us to feasibly teleport to either in one shot  _or_  spread out,  _damn it!”_ He roared, slamming his fist into the wall. “I will  _not_  let them take it again!”

“And you won’t.”

Everyone present turned around to behold a changeling. This one had bronze eyes and was wearing a tool-belt and a pair of goggles.

“Chitter?” Chrysalis asked in confusion. “What are you doing here?”

Chitter smirked mischievously. “My apologies, my queen, but you were so agitated that we were unable to inform you of the latest developments. You see,” His smirk became eager. “We‘ve managed to re-open  _that_  section of the hive,” He turned to look at Scholar. “I believe that it will suit your needs?”

Scholar blinked in confusion before his eyes widened in realization. Then, slowly, he smirked victoriously. “Yes...” He said quietly. “Yes it will.”

**-o-**

The group emerged from the tunnel and entered into yet another expansive cave. Standing before them were a pair of curious vehicles, upon which all the changelings present were frantically swarming over, working hard to prepare them.

Held upon stone scaffolding, the twin constructs were made of sleek stone and had lines and lines of runes coursing along them. They were shaped like the racing boats often found in Mareami or Los Pegasus, but had a raised seat in the rear and an open area for sitting in the front.

Behind the vehicles, also upon scaffolding and also with changeling workers were two stone rings that were wider across then the vehicles. Lining the inner edge was a ring of crystals. Running all over them was a vast collections of runes and glyphs.

Scholar walked towards the vehicles with pure determination, not even turning his head as he spoke to the changeling rune-engineer that was keeping pace with him. “How long until the rune gliders are ready?” He demanded.

Chitter hummed and tilted his head in thought. “Oh about...” Suddenly, the gliders lit up as magic coursed through the ancient runes. The changeling workers scrambled back as both the boats and the rings slowly hovered off of where they’d been resting. “Zero seconds?” He finished coyly.

Scholar ignored him, instead addressing the rest of his entourage. “Nix, Null, you two are driving. Trixie, Gilda, you’re riding with Nix. Iron Will, you’re with me and Null. Chrysalis, you’re staying behind. Co-ordinate the changelings and get your hive back to full power.”

The insectoid matriarch shrugged indifferently. “Fine by me. I don’t want to go up there while the climate arrays are down anyways. Those tundras are colder than Solum’s personality!”

Scholar nodded in acceptance. “Glad to hear it. Now, come on, saddle up!”

The Twins flew up to the control platforms on the gliders. Simultaneous gestures from their hands produced Rune Arrays in front of the both of them that they began tapping on, prepping the rune gliders for launch. Scholar’s Lexicon lit up briefly with runes before two Arrays appeared beneath Scholar and his companions before lifting them up and depositing them in the seats of their respective rides.

Another flash and runes were in front of all six of their foreheads. “Communications check,” Scholar’s voice said in their ears. “Confirm functionality.”

Gilda nodded, tapping into the rune with her magic. “Confirmed.”

“The Ready and Willing Trixie confirms!”

“Iron Will confirms as well.”

“This is Chimaera One!”

“And Chimaera Two!”

“Both confirmed!”

Scholar rolled his eyes. “Confirmed, communications are working, and you two are  _not_  Chimaeras whatever.”

“Awwwww...”

“Anyways,” He continued. “Here’s the plan: If we want to get to Vitrum first, we’re going to need to push these rune gliders to the limit and keep them there. Unfortunately, the problem with this is that that there isn’t enough magic in the air to give them that much power, and my anti-harmony ward won’t work right on constructs. Fortunately, we have a substitute.”

He opened his grimoire and flicked an Array out of the pages, sending it between the gliders and displaying a hologram of a train chugging along a set of rails. “The Equestria Express. It’s powered by magic running along all the lines, so we’ll be riding close to them at all times so as to leech off of the energy and max things out. Yet again, however, therein lies another problem,” The image shifted, displaying a map of lines criss-crossing across Equestria, one in particular lit up. “The fastest route to the north runs straight through Canterlot. Any other junctions would involve detours that would take too much time, so we’ll be heading right next to the Alicorns.”

“And how exactly do we plan to  _not_  get caught by them?” Iron Will asked.

“Well,” Scholar said, “If we power through fast enough, they might not be able to get it together fast enough to come after us. Otherwise...”

“Play it by the ear?” Gilda asked.

Scholar nodded. “Bingo.”

Gilda sighed despondently. “Of course...”

Suddenly the runes on the vehicles flashed again. “All systems are green!” Null said.

“We’re good to go!” Nix concurred.

“Glad to hear it! ALRIGHT, LET’S GET MOVING!” Scholar bellowed.

Chitter’s horn lit up as he activated the hangar’s P.A. system.  _“All workers, clear out of the danger zone. I repeat, clear the danger zone unless you want your organs splattered across the walls in a blast of occult energy.”_

“Isn’t  _he_  cheery?” Gilda muttered.

Chrysalis shrugged, remaining where she was as her children moved back. “The popular opinion is that he got caught in one or ten too many blasts.”

“Everything tastes like purple!” The magi-engineer chirped.

Trixie’s eyes widened as a sudden realization hit her. “Wait, isn’t he the one who  _prepared_  these things?”

“Never fear!” Nix chirped.

“Yeah!  _We’re_  here!” Null finished.

_“THAT IS NOT REASSURING!”_

_“Initiating countdown!”_

“Well, that’s my cue!” Chrysalis exclaimed. “Good luck, and bring me back a souvenir!”

“You too!” Scholar called back.

Chrysalis and Chitter snapped their wings open and flew back into the safety of the surrounding cave.

_“Three!”_

The rings hovering behind the gliders began to hum and spin rapidly, energy pouring into their centers and filling the emptiness with light.

“So, wait, how do these things work?” Gilda asked nervously.

Scholar jabbed a thumb over his shoulder. “Those rings are the propulsion systems. They’ll push us forwards towards Vitrum.”

“That sounds logical,” Trixie nodded simply.

_“Two!”_

With a low, growling rumble, the cavern roof split in two, spreading wide and exposing the clear blue Badlands sky.

“That isn’t!” Iron Will exclaimed in a mild panic. “Scholar, if these things are meant to go forwards, why is the exit up  _there!?”_

“Weeeell...” Scholar trailed off sheepishly.

Nix and Null’s ominous chuckling did  _not_  put the Magisters at ease.

_“One!”_

More rumbling, only now it came from below. Slowly, rectangular strips of stone beneath the gliders began to tilt back, the constructs angling up towards the sky as well.

The Magisters were frozen in fear as they stared into the sky with horror.

“Oh,” Trixie whispered.

“Fuck,” Gilda continued.

“Us,” Iron Will finished.

“Yeah, now you see why I didn’t share any details.”

“I don’t suppose its too late to wuss out?” Gilda whimpered.

“Entirely!” The Twins squealed.

_“BLAST OFF!”_

**BOOM!**

In a single large blast, the energy in the rings was expelled out their backs, launching them straight up into the sky.

Chitter giggled madly as he hopped around. “Yay! It worked! It worked! They didn’t go boom!”

Chrysalis held her smile for a second longer before dropping it sadly.

_‘Be safe.’_

**-o-**

“YOU’RE INSANE!” Gilda screamed as they flew into the sky.

“THAT’S COMING FROM A  _GRIFFON!”_ Trixie added.

“If you think this is insane,”

“Watch this!”

As one, the Golems pulled back on the rune controls, tilting the gliders up farther and farther until they were upside down. Back and back, until finally they made a full loop and flattened out, running parallel to the ground.

The Magisters panted heavily as they zipped along the wasteland.

“See?”

“Wasn’t that fun?”

“All...of Iron Will’s hate...” Iron WIll growled. “ _All_ of it.”

“Oh grow a pair,” Scholar scolded. “All of you. You big babies.”

“There is a special place in hell for people like you,” Trixie muttered.

“...I can live with that.”

“Urgh,” Gilda groaned, slumping back into her seat. “...so what now?”

Scholar grew serious again. “Now?” He responded calmly. “Now we burn magic for Vitrum.”

They flew in silence for a few minutes before Iron Will finally spoke up. “So,” He rumbled. “Why did you build the capital of the world in the frozen tundra of the north?”

“That’s an easy one!” Nix said.

“Ley lines!” Her crimson brother finished.

“Pop quiz!” Scholar exclaimed. “Definition of ley lines! Go!”

“Oh, Trixie knows this one!” The unicorn exclaimed. “Currents of magic flowing beneath the crust of Mundus, some big, some small.”

“They are the veins of Mother Gaia,” Iron Will said calmly. “They spread life to all nature, giving energy, allowing plants to grow, feeding the very air and water.”

“But the  _really_  interesting parts are where multiple ley lines intersect,” Gilda said seriously. “Places of great power. The more ley lines, the more powerful the area. In it’s natural state, an intersection shows a strong presence of nature, be it an extremely abundant part of a forest, an oasis...” She trailed off as she turned towards Scholar, a look of understanding crossing her face. “Or an especially vicious tundra, Scholar, how many ley lines  _are_  under Vitrum!?”

“A whole  _mess_ of them,” The Rune Keeper said matter-of-factly. “Intersecting and criss-crossing, there’s an ocean of magic beneath that barren wasteland. Well, it wasn’t barren once we were done with it anyways. We tapped Vitrum into it and then... One of the few places where we allowed any wide-scale climate control, and even then we kept it contained within the borders,” Scholar leaned back and smiled endearingly. “Man, you should have  _seen_  the summer cycles. Just...damn,”

Suddenly, his mood became somber. “Vitrum is a place of great power, and great influence. To hold Vitrum is to either hold the world, or close to it. Should Equestria gain control of it...” He met each of their eyes. “I will not lie to you. This war will be over before it can even begin.”

The group flew along in a somber silence for several more minutes. Then...

“E.T.A. to Dodge Junction, less than a minute,” The Golem Twins stated in synch.

“Punch it,” Scholar commanded.

Nix and Null pushed the arrays forward, forcing the gliders to run at the max. The town passed by in a blur and then the land just seemed to fade out as the gliders became impossibly fast, miles shortening so that they were crossed in minutes.

“I had no idea that the Express held such power...” Gilda breathed as she stared at the spectacle playing before her and her friends.

Trixie chose to scowl. “You’re wrong. It doesn’t. The Express lines siphon the ley lines, but the train itself uses a mere fraction of the magic offered. The rest is used either to enforce harmony-production arrays beneath towns and ‘protect’ them from the world...”

“Let me guess,” Scholar growled under his breath. “The rest feeds into Canterlot. Into the Alicorns.”

Iron Will shook his head sadly. “We’re sorry, Scholar. We’ve tried time and time again to rip the rails out, but they haven’t worked. They always replace them, and anyone who gets caught either goes away for a long time or...disappears. The Academia has lost a lot of good members trying to take the Express down.”

The human bowed his head. “It’s not your fault. Remember that, it is  _never_  your fault. It’s theirs. And we will make them pay. All of them.”

Once again they flew in silence. Finally...

“Ponyville incoming.”

“E.T.A. Less than a minute.”

**-o-**

Twilight sighed as she sat on her bench. So much had happened. Her world had changed so much. All because of that person. All because of Scholar.

Suddenly, there was the sound of flapping and she wasn’t alone.

“Hey Twilight,” Rainbow Dash said lightly.

Twilight nodded faintly. “Hi Dash,” She whispered.

Dash was silent for a second before she spoke again. “Twilight, is everything alright?”

The purple unicorn chuckled morbidly. “Do you want me to be honest or should I lie for your benefit?”

Rainbow Dash bit her lip hesitantly. “Look, Twilight. Scholar isn’t here. I know he’s out there, but he’s not here.”

Twilight was quiet before she shook her head and smiled. “Yeah... yeah, you’re right. He’s not here. He’s probably got more important things to do. There’s not reason for him to come to Ponyville.”

**ZOOM!**

Twilight and Rainbow Dash jerked back in surprise as something big, glowing, and very very fast sped through Ponyville Station, bringing a huge wind with it.

Twilight blinked as she tried to process what had just happened. “Then again,” She whispered. “I suppose it is possible he could visit.”

Rainbow Dash stared for a second before growling furiously. “Like  _Tartarus_  he can!”

She tried to snap her wings open, but was halted by a purple aura engulfing her. “Rainbow Dash, no! If you try to go after him it will just end up like the reception, maybe even worse!”

The blue pegasus scowled and struggled. “No way! I just wasn’t ready!”

“Dash, you couldn’t do anything to him even if you  _were_  ready.”

Rainbow Dash’s struggles ceased as she looked at Twilight pleadingly. “But...we can’t just let him get away with whatever he’s planning!”

Twilight shook her head and let her friend go. “And we won’t. Come on!” She began galloping back towards the library. “I’ve got an idea!”

**-o-**

Gilda raised an eyebrow as she looked over her shoulder. “That’s weird, Dash should have been on us like a fly on a carcass.”

“Which means that something isn’t right,” Scholar muttered to himself. He raised his voice and spoke to the group. “What’s the structure of the railroad near Canterlot?”

“The tracks run through a tunnel in the mountain and up to the city proper or out to whatever other destination there is,” Iron Will explained.

Scholar hummed lightly and produced an Array in front of his face. He stared for a moment before his eyes widened in horror. “Is said tunnel supposed to be barricaded and guarded by a full platoon?”

“WHAT!?” Everyone else screeched.

Scholar responded by widening the Array, showing what he had seen.

The tunnel entrance was covered by a pair of stone shutters that were glowing with potent magic. Several armored ponies of all kinds stood in front of them, armed and ready to fight. Far more alarmingly were the pair of Alicorns that were also standing at the ready.

“Wh- _how!?”_  Trixie demanded.

“I don’t know and I don’t care,” He growled. “All I care about is getting through and making sure that those two traitors don’t catch us.”

“But...” Gilda glanced at him worriedly. “You have a plan...right?”

Scholar was silent, eyes darting to and fro behind his glasses as he moved his finger through the air and muttered wordlessly. His comrades could see the gears turning in his head, numbers and runes crunching.

Finally, they all breathed a sigh of relief as he smirked triumphantly.

“Nix, Null, slow down. We’re going to need to prepare.”

**-o-**

Luna bit her lip as she watched the rune gliders approach. “Sister, are thou sure that this will work?”

The solar Alicorn shook her head in resignation. “Luna, this is  _Scholar._  It is impossible to say for certain, but we still must try our best to buy Shining Armor and Cadance as much time as possible.”

“I don’t think you need to worry, milady,” A soldier in blue officer’s armor said confidently as he saluted.

“Major Aegis,” Celestia greeted.

Aegis was the officer in charge of the Guard while Shining Armor was away. “We have the tunnel fully barricaded and our men are ready and willing to fight. It is impossible for him to pass us.”

Celestia sighed and closed her eyes. “That is an ill-suited term, Major. Nothing is impossible for Scholar. To him, there are still many options for him to choose. We’ve cut off his primary route, but at best that will annoy him. Scholar is a man of many means and plans, what is impossible for us to definitively know which way he’ll go. Around the mountain, over it, even under it is an option!”

Suddenly, there was a flash from the gliders. The soldiers cried out in fear and confusion as magic and runes flew up the tracks, lighting up the rails until they ended at the barricade.

“Or...” Luna whispered in horror. “Charging through works just fine.”

Celestia quickly snapped out of her shock. “FALL BACK!” She screamed to the Guard.

Not a moment too soon. Just as the last soldier retreated, the gliders flashed anew before becoming streaks of light, reaching the barricade in seconds and barreling straight through, blasting it to smithereens in an explosion of arcane energy and momentum.

Luna blinked, trying to process what had just happened. “Well, he has certainly retained some of his more... _defining_  qualities.”

Celestia growled in frustration and flared her wings. “After them!”

In a flash, the two of them took to the air, imbuing their wings with magic to accelerate and match Scholar’s speed. Within seconds, they had rocketed around the mountain and caught sight of their escaping foe.

Celestia channeled energy to her eyes and squinted, catching sight of Scholar. He was standing with a foot poised on the headrest of his seat, grinning up at the two of them, arms crossed. Celestia sighed in resignation. “He has a plan.”

Luna grimaced. “That is not good. His plans are  _never_  nice for whoever is on the receiving end.”

Suddenly, Scholar raised an arm, his fist clenched. In synch, Iron Will and Gilda stood up, revealing huge crossbows that they were clenching. As one, they pointed the weapons over the edge of the gliders, took aim, and fired. Out of the weapons came two  _huge_  bolts of magic, runes swirling around them as they streaked off almost as fast as the gliders.

Luna whipped her head back and forth as she assessed the situation. “The westwards one heads for Los Pegasus, the easterly projectile aims for Fillydelphia!”

Celestia clenched her eyes shut in frustration. “How much damage could they cause?”

“Considering the source? Anywhere from actually being beneficial to causing genocide.”

Growling under her breath, Celestia cracked an eye open. She caught of Scholar, now casually flipping a coin and making a show of catching it. “A Janus coin. He always did love practicing what was preached.”

Luna turned towards her worriedly. “So what shall we choose, sister?”

For a moment, Celestia was silent, staring down at her old friend and enemy.

Finally...

**-o-**

Trixie sighed in relief as the blue and gold streaks split off after the bolts. “Thank. Hecate.”

“I know, right?” Gilda chuckled as she set the portable ballista down. “Man, I was afraid that wouldn’t work.”

Iron Will grunted as he lowered the weapon. “Out of curiosity,” He asked quietly, turning his head slightly to eye Scholar. “What would happen if they  _did_  detonate?”

Scholar returned the questioning look neutrally. “An explosion with a ten-foot radius. Why?” He looked at the rest of the group. “Is that a problem?”

The Magisters were silent, their faces clear of emotion as they watched him, refusing to flinch.

Finally, Scholar chuckled and kicked his feet back as he sat down. “Good. For the record, they would have both hit penitentiaries, so most likely nobody innocent would be hurt, but I’m glad you asked. I want intelligent partners, not mindless drones.”

The group sighed in relief as they leaned back into their seats.

“So,” Trixie asked. “How much longer until we reach the north?”

Nix and Null made some quick calculations before responding.

“At the speed we’re going...”

“About five, six hours tops.”

“But before that,” Scholar added. “There’s  _one_  thing we need to do.”

**-o-**

Cadance sighed as she stared out the window, watching the lands pass by. She was broken out of her thoughts by her husband nuzzling her affectionately, a motion she returned. “Hey Shiny...”

“Hi Cadance,” Shining Armor said kindly. “Sorry I was gone, I just needed to make some rounds. Personally.”

Cadance smiled sadly as she looked at him. “Thank you, Shiny. But...” She looked out at the landscape again. “As skilled as you are...if Scholar or the Academia wanted to get me, there isn’t anything you could do to stop them.”

Shining frowned and raised a hoof to her shoulder. “Cadance...”

His wife shook her head sadly. “It’s not an insult, it’s a fact. The world of Concordia and the world of Equestria...they’re on different levels. They have been for a very long time.”

Shining bit his lip and bowed his head. “But I’m the Captain of the  _Guard,_  how far behind could I be?”

Cadance made to answer...

**ZOOM!**

But was interrupted by something speeding past the window.

Cadance and Shining Armor jerked back in shock. “What was-” Shining started to ask.

Cadance paled dramatically. “It’s him.”

Shining whipped his head around. “What!? But- hey!” He shouted after her as she galloped away.

Cadance slammed the carriage door open and ran up to the engineer. “You have to stop the train!”

The engineer turned around in shock. “What!?”

Shining Armor panted heavily as he caught up with her. “Cadance, what are you-!?”

“Scholar’s already passed us,” Cadance explained hastily. “That means he’s going to slow us down, make it so that-!”

**BOOM!**

The train was shaken by the vibrations from a huge explosion.

“What on...Equus?” Shining trailed off as he stuck his head out the window and stared at what he saw.

The rune gliders were still speeding on, and behind them where once there had been pristine rails was nothing but a smoking crater, twisted pieces of tracks scattered around.

“We can’t follow him,” Cadance whimpered miserably.

The engineer cursed and yanked on a lever, causing the train to let out several flurries of sparks as it slid to a halt. He scowled and stuck his head out the window surveying the damage. “Blast! He hit a junction! We’re gonna have to repair two whole sets of track! Gonna take us till way after sundown, at least!”

Cadance sadly turned her head and met Shining’s wide-eyed gaze. “That’s the power of Concordia,” She whispered. “The power of Scholar.”

**-o-**

The rune gliders shuddered as they went from the tracks to flying over the ice-laden ground.

Trixie shivered as the frigid winds hit her. “Brrr, this place is freezing!”

Gilda looked over her shoulder in surprise. “You mean your heating Array isn’t working?”

Trixie’s teeth chattered as she looked at her in confusion. “Wh-what h-heating array!?”

Iron Will looked over in confusion. “It’s in your armor, right behind your neck.”

Trixie grit her teeth to ward off the cold and sensed around with her magic for the array. When she found it, she fed her energy into it and was rewarded with her armor comfortably heating up. She sighed happily. “Ahhh, that’s the stuff.”

Gilda snickered. “What, you didn’t give your armor a once-over?”

The silver-clad unicorn huffed in embarrassment. “Give Trixie a break! She was pressed for time to get the armor and rendezvous with you all! She just made sure it would protect her in her dreams and not suddenly detonate, that’s it!”

Iron Will chuckled and shook his head. Suddenly, a thought struck him and made him look over his shoulder at his superior. “Hey, shouldn’t we have slowed down if we left the rails?”

“See? This is why I like you!” Scholar exclaimed. “Now, if we were farther south, closer to Equestria, we would have because of the harmony. But this far north? There’s no harmony, meaning we don’t have to worry about that!”

Suddenly, the gliders juddered again and decelerated to the same point they’d been at when they’d initially left Endos.

Gilda blinked in surprise and looked over the edge hesitantly. “Err, and what does this mean?”

The Golem Twins eyes widened as they glanced at each other.

“This means...”

“That we’re in a  _lot_  of trouble.”

Scholar swallowed heavily. “Harmony, here? I knew that they would have installed  _something_ , but of this magnitude? This isn’t good, we need to get there  _now!”_

The Twins nodded in synch. “Activating overdrive.” They chorused. The landscape blurred slightly as they accelerated again. Not quite the same speed as before, but close.

After a few minutes, the Twins cut the acceleration and turned towards the sides, letting the Gliders slide to a halt.

“We’re here,” They stated decisively.

And indeed they were. A few scant meters ahead of them, the tundra abruptly halted and was replaced with lush, green field out of which blew a warm spring breeze. And in the distance, glittering brightly, was Vitrum.

Scholar frowned and chewed on his thumb. “As I thought. Looks like they’ve mostly deactivated it, hidden a lot underground. And  _he_  is definitely asleep, I can’t sense him anywhere. Spring cycle is a bit early too, plus I can’t see any forests or rivers...” He sighed heavily. “Oh Vitrum, what have they done to you?”

The Twins narrowed their eyes angrily.

“We can definitely tell you one thing they’ve done,” Nix said darkly.

“The air is  _clogged_  with harmony, I don’t think we can go in there,” Null all but growled.

Gilda shook her head sadly. “It’s no use just waiting around, let’s move out,” She then proceeded to hop out of the glider and onto the ice.

The rest followed her, one after another, Iron Will cracking the ice as he landed.

When Scholar got out, he blinked in surprise as he touched the tundra. He looked over at Iron Will. “Do you...?” He asked hesitantly.

Iron Will closed his eyes for a second before he nodded and re-opened them. “It’s faint, but...yes, Iron Will can feel it.”

Trixie looked between them in confusion. “What are you...?”

Scholar shook his head. “I’m...not quite sure. Look, Nix and Null can’t go into Vitrum unless they want to undergo another dirt-nap-”

“WE DON’T!”

“So! I suggest we split up,” He jabbed his thumb at Iron Will. “Me, Iron Will and the Twins will find out what we can about what’s in the ice, you two head into Vitrum and dig up whatever intel you can find. Use the com-systems in the armor. You know how that works, right?”

Trixie’s eye twitched before she smiled mischievously. A series of runes flashed on her collar and then...  _“TESTING TESTING ONE TWO THREE FOUR!”_ Trixie bellowed.

The team gave cries of pain as Trixie’s voice rang out in their heads.

“Alright, I had that one coming...” Scholar muttered.

“Right, come on, Trix,” Gilda scowled. “Let’s go.”

And with that, the teams split up, Gilda and Trixie heading for the city and Iron Will, Scholar and the Twins walking into the Tundra.

**-o-**

Gilda frowned as she peered around the corner. It had taken about two hours for the gold-clad griffon and her friend to reach the city. Upon arriving, they’d stuck to the shadows in order to avoid the residents that were all milling about and talking with each others. All of them were strange ponies, their coats glittery and sparkling like gems. Some of them were speaking worriedly, others were cheering and hugging gleefully.

“So, anything that sticks out to you?” She asked over her shoulder.

Trixie nodded as she concentrated. “Yes, the Attentive and Perceptive Trixie has heard several ponies make reference to a ‘Crystal Heart’.”

Gilda scowled. “Yeah, me too. It sounds cute and prissy, and when it comes to Equestria, that’s usually bad news.”

Trixie nodded again. “Agreed. We need to know more. Grab one of them.”

**-o-**

Amethyst Glitter frowned as she stopped in front of an alleyway. She glanced around, trying to regain her bearings.  _‘Damn it, where the hell was the meeting place again? Either Topaz’s bar or Obsidian’s punk shop...No, wait!’_ She slapped her hoof to her forehead.  _‘Emerald’s nightclub, of course!’_ She turned around.  _‘Alright, so I take a right down-!’_ “YEAR-!”

She began to scream as she was suddenly snatched up from behind, but was cut off by a taloned hand clamping over her mouth.

Amethyst was carried into the alley and then turned around, showing off the identity of her captor: a female griffon. Her eyes widened in recognition as she stared at the gold-armor the avian-mammal hybrid was wearing.

“Hi!” The griffon said mockingly. “My friend would like to have a word with you!”

Amethyst began to speak as soon as the griffon let go of her mouth. .

“Nononono wait wait I-!”

That was all she was able to get out before she was turned around again and her field of vision was filled with silver.

The last words she heard were “Tell me about the Crystal Heart.”

After that, everything was a blank.

**-o-**

Gilda and Trixie stared in horror as the pony trotted off, oblivious to all that had occurred.

“Oh...” Trixie whispered.

“SHIT!” Gilda screeched, turning on the communications array as fast as she could.

_“Scholar! Scholar, respond!”_

**-o-**

_“We’ve found something!”_

“Yeah?” Scholar muttered. “What a coincidence. So have we.”

He, Iron Will and the Twins were in an ice cave, staring at what they’d discovered. They’d spent the past two hours tracking what they’d sensed and it had led them to a fissure in the ice that stretched deep underground, leading to where they were.

The group was awestruck at what they’d found.

“Holy...” Nix breathed.

“Crap...” Null finished.

Iron Will shook his head in awe. “This is...incredible...”

_“Yeah? Well_ this  _is_ urgent!”

Scholar frowned, the fear in Gilda’s voice worrying him. “What is it?”

_“The harmony!”_ Trixie said hurriedly.  _“It’s being caused by an artifact called the Crystal Heart! It was placed there by the Alicorns! It’s a harmony generator of_ immense _power! Like the Elements, but on a far grander scale! It’s powerful enough to easily cover Equestria, maybe even Mundus as a whole!”_

The group reacted with shock and fear.

“WHAT!?” The Twins shrieked.

“Oh no...” Iron Will breathed.

Scholar bit his thumb. “But how...” He murmured. He then slapped his forehead. “The main  communications array! Damn it, we used that thing to broadcast information worldwide! They must have hijacked it! Combined with what you described, it could  _easily_  be used like that!” His eyes darted around as he thought furiously. “But still, simply plugging it into the lines wouldn’t be enough to start it, it would need some kind of jolt...”

_“There’s some kind of Crystal Faire. Apparently the love and friendship from that powers the Crystal Heart and ‘protects the Crystal Empire’ and spreads ‘peace and hope’ across Equestria,’_ Gilda growled over the Array.

Scholar hung his head. “A Venti Canis Array. Yeah, that would do it. Positive emotions always have a better conversion rate.”

There was a moment of silence. Then...

_“Scholar,”_ Trixie said.  _“The Crystal Heart isn’t active.”_

_“What?”_  The Rune Keeper hissed.

_“A thousand years ago, Vitrum was conquered by an evil unicorn called King Sombra. He enslaved Vitrum and hid the Crystal Heart somewhere. When the Alicorns got rid of him, his final action was to curse Vitrum so that it would be hidden away for a thousand years. Do you understand what Trixie is saying!? The Heart is inactive, yet we can_ already _feel it’s effects! Should the Alicorns manage to find it, activate it-!”_

**“Enough!”**

Silence reigned as the group watched Scholar pant and huff.

“Enough. I need to think,” He growled.

Scholar snapped the Lexicon open and began jerking his fingers around, moving runes to and fro as he paced. He muttered vehemently to himself in several languages as he thought furiously.

Suddenly, he froze.

Slowly, he turned and stared at what he and his friends had discovered.

“Alright, everyone, listen up,” He whispered.

Relief shot through his friends.

“I have a plan.”

**To Be Continued…**


	10. An Uneasy Alliance... VERY Uneasy

Celestia sighed as she stared out of the shattered remains of her window. Stared towards the north.

Stared and prayed for her student’s safety.

“Sister, this is...insane!”

The solar diarch turned her head to emotionlessly stare at her sister. “As you’ve said before, Luna,” She said quietly.

“And as we shall say again and again, Celestia!” Luna reprimanded. “You know what he is capable of, what he can-!”

**“I KNOW!”** Celestia shouted, her mane flaring gold and her eyes lighting up in fury. Luna stumbled back in fear as power flowed through her sister. Celestia breathed heavily for a moment before letting the energy drain out of her in a despondent sigh.

“I know,” She whispered. “But we don’t have another choice. We haven’t heard back from Cadance and Shining Armor in well over a week, and if-”

Luna gave her a flat look.

Celestia groaned and rubbed her brow. “Fine,  _because_ Scholar got there first, we should have known almost immediately one way or another! Like it or not, Luna, the facts remain: something is very,  _very_  wrong in the north, and neither you nor I can leave to investigate.”

Luna growled under her breath. “We know, we know! It just... _irks_  us that we have to leave it to six untrained ponies! Think, Celestia! They have no weaponry and are  _completely_ unskilled! They are not on his level!”

“And what would you have me do!?” Celestia demanded. “Give them something from the vaults, or even the Elements? All we would be accomplishing would be handing them to Scholar as good as giftwrapped! Train them? We would not have the time, and even if we did, they would not have his level of experience. Send in the troops?” She let out a harsh bark of laughter. “Even back  _then_  all that accomplished was thinning the herd and making Solum a killing, pun unavoidable.”

She turned her gaze back out the window. “At this point, all we can do is pray that Twilight and her friends are up to the task.”

“And if they aren’t?” Luna demanded.

Celestia stared for a second longer before turning around and slowly walking out of the throne room.

“Then we must be prepared for the worst.”

**-o-**

Twilight sighed as she stared out the train window, snow flowing by as she wandered through her memories.  _‘Of all the tests Celestia could have given me...’_  She mentally groaned.

A hoof landed on her shoulder, drawing her out of her mind. She turned to meet Rarity’s worried gaze. “Twilight dear, is everything alright?” She asked worriedly.

Twilight sighed and looked back out the window. “I...fine. I’m just thinking of...what happened.”

Rarity flinched. “The reception?”

Twilight shook her head. “No. I’m thinking more about what happened after.”

Rarity frowned as she remembered. “Yes, that was rather... _revealing,_ wasn’t it?”

Twilight nodded silently and turned her head, staring out the window again and searching her thoughts again...

Remembering what she had learned of the history of Eq...Mundus.

From the other side.

**-Morning after the reception-**

Celestia stared sadly at the miserable sight before her. The Elements of Harmony, her precious little ponies, were all seated in her throne room, eyes full of questions and fear. Rainbow Dash was nursing a bruised wing and ego, Twilight was periodically shivering, and Fluttershy had developed a thousand yard stare.

She tried to break the silence. “My little-”

“How much.”

Celestia’s voice cut off as Twilight interrupted her, her voice low and sad. Slowly, the lavender unicorn raised her head and gazed miserably at her teacher.

“How much of that was the truth?” She croaked.

Celestia was silent, gazing at her subjects mournfully before clenching her eyes shut and bowing her head.

“All of the facts...were true,” She whispered mournfully.

The Elements froze and stared at her in horror, unable to speak.

_“But!”_ Celestia continued. “That does not mean that they were what I desired. Nix and Null told their side of what occurred... before you judge me and my sister, let me tell you ours. ,” She raised her head and looked at the six ponies sadly, tears present in her eyes. “Please.”

The six friends glanced amongst each other silently before turning back to look at her and nodding solemnly.

The solar princess groaned sadly and stood up, slowly walking forwards and staring off into space.

“Concordia...was beautiful,” She whispered. “It was amazing, simply monumental. I swear to you, I would  _never_  have willingly harmed it. But unfortunately, circumstances were beyond my  control.”

Celestia shook her head despondently. “Though it wasn’t our intention, the destruction of Concordia was the result of the shared folly of me, my sister and Cadance. We sought what was impossible, what we knew we could never have.”

“A triple-decker uber muffin-cake hybrid all-you-can-eat buffet?” Pinkie asked, trying to inject some levity into the situation. The glares she was awarded with indicated that she had failed.

Celestia grit her teeth, furious with her past self.  _“Perfection._  People dying was a common occurrence back then, be it from wild flora or fauna, conflicts between criminals and the Academia, diseases... It was rarely cataclysmic, but I felt every death as though it were my own, lamented every loss of life. Luna and Cadance agreed with me. Scholar and the Oligarchs, they were sympathetic, but...” She sighed and shook her head. “They didn’t share our empathy, they had the capabilities to accept them as statistics.  We developed harmony to... _equalize_  things, make things better, calmer.”

She chewed her lip nervously. “We researched it in secret because we knew that Scholar was adverse to people changing the course of nature in drastic manners. He only allowed it if it were a necessity. Nevertheless, we persisted and tested it by covering Equestria. And it worked!”

She grimaced at the memory. “For the most part, anyways. We had no  _idea_  that other species would react so adversely! It was never supposed to harm them, harmony was supposed to benefit Concordia as a whole!”

“But...then why didn’t you shut it off!?” Twilight pleaded desperately.

“We were about to!” Celestia cried. “We were mortified by the effects of the harmony! We were about to rescind it all, dissipate it in it’s entirety, but then...” A look of deep horror entered her eyes.

“Discord?” Twilight supplied hesitantly.

The princess squeezed her eyes shut and shivered subconsciously. “Back during the days of Concordia, there were many different theologies and religions. A common point was a cataclysmic plane where evil souls went after death to suffer for the crimes they committed during their lives. They called it hell. Discord...he devoted himself to molding Equestria in it’s likeness.”

A few tears trailed silently down her fur. “When we finally managed to subdue him...we saw just how furious the other Oligarchs were. We...we were afraid. So very very afraid that they would punish ponykind for our mistakes. And when Scholar of all people showed up and demanded our presence...” She groaned miserably and rubbed her face with her hoof. “We panicked. Apprehended him in a moment of fear, ignored his claims of wanting a peaceful resolution...”

She trailed off as she stared out the broken window. “From there, everything spiraled out of control. Concordia scrambled to try and attack us and it was only the conflict between them that gave us time to reorient ourselves. We... we didn’t want to hurt them,  _could_  never hurt them, they were our friends! But...they were dead-set on hurting us. So...we did what we had to. We  _weaponized_  the harmony. Sealed away as many as we could, driving them into an endless  slumber. In the end, only a handful of species capitulated and agreed to cease hostilities.”

Celestia clenched her eyes shut and bowed her head. “The actions we took...I have lived a long time, and to this day there is not a single thing I regret more.”

For a moment there was silence, the Elements quietly contemplating what they had learnt. Finally, Applejack broke the silence. “Princess...what about the trolls? If ya’ll didn’t want to kill anyone, then why...?”

Celestia groaned and began massaging her forehead again. “The trolls...believe me, what happened to them was a tragedy to it’s core, nothing more or less, but...there was no other option. They were different from everyone else, somehow naturally resistant to the harmony. We tried to negotiate with them, but even  _before_  what happened, they were aggressive and prone to conflict. To them, war wasn’t a tragedy or anything like that, it was an art, a way of life! And their Empress? She personified it. She ordered her entire species to attack and they responded. With gusto.”

She lowered her hoof, her eyes filled with regret. “They...they left us no choice. Literally. Time and time again, I  _pleaded_  with her, tried to find some form of middle ground, but...whether it was pride or stupidity, I’ll never know. We  _never_  mounted a single offensive. All conflict was with Equestria purely on the defensive, and I think the only reason we won was the fact that the Empress never allowed a single retreat and none ever ran. She fought every battle  _literally_  to the last, and in the end, that’s what she was. The last troll. She even went out on her own terms. She tore through an entire army and fought me personally. That fight... it lasted for over a  _day,_  and it was the hardest battle I’ve had to date. I barely even survived.”

Celestia turned back and stared at her subjects. “Twilight, girls, please, I am  _begging_ you to believe me. What happened was one of the greatest tragedies in the history of E...” She trailed off before turning her gaze away. “...Mundus. But it has  _never_  been repeated, and I would do anything to take it back and prevent it from reoccurring. I promise.”

There was silence before Twilight finally nodded. “I...I believe you Princess.”

The rest of her friends nodded, giving sounds of assent. Almost nobody noticed that Applejack was slightly more resigned in her acceptance.

“Hey, wait a minute!” Celestia blinked and turned her head over as Pinkie jumped up and down. “I know that Scholar was a real meany and said that thing with his big glowing book was your last chance, but maybe if you tried asking him really really nicely, he’d be willing to be nice to you too!”

She bit her lip and looked away. “Even if that were probable, there’s still the fact that he wants to re-awaken Concordia...”

Pinkie tilted her head in confusion. “But...why is that a bad thing? If they were free, I could throw the mother of all ‘Sorry for overreacting and being a really big meany pants, please forgive me’ party, then you would apologize and we could all be super duper bestest of friends!”

Celestia flinched. “That’s...not possible. I highly doubt Scholar will ever forgive me for what I have done, and even if he did, the rest of the Oligarchs and I did not part on very...friendly terms...”

“Oh come on, how bad could it be?” Pinkie prodded.

Celestia swallowed nervously, cold sweat running down the back of her neck as she thought back to the final words they’d exchanged.

**“You might imprison me, Solar Tyrant, but mark my words! One day! One day! I** **_will_ ** **be free! And when I am, I** **_swear_ ** **to you, I will have my revenge! The earth shall not be your prison!** **_IT SHALL BE YOUR TOMB!”_ **

**“Your blood will boil!” “Your stomach will burn!” “Every** **_inch_ ** **of your body will be in pain!” “I will dedicate every last** **_drop_ ** **of my venom to making you hurt!” “I will** **_ruin_ ** **your inner biology!” “Just as you turned on us!” “** **_YOUR BODY WILL TURN ON YOU AND MAKE YOU PAY!”_ **

**“Most people see death as an** **_end_ ** **to suffering. And for most, this is true. We wraiths rarely dare to intrude upon the sanctity of one’s afterlife in such a manner. You, however, shall be an exception. For you, death shall only be the** **_beginning of your  ETERNAL DAMNATION!”_ **

**“At first, Celestia, we were in disarray. I wanted to rip your throat out before you knew what had happened.” “I wanted to grind your bones to dust.” “And I wanted to fill you to the brim with lightning.” “Then, we had an epiphany.” “Why have conflict when we can compromise?” “We’ll rip your throat out, crush you, and electrocute you simultaneously.”  “Oh, and don’t mistake our calm attitudes for anything like forgiveness.” “We are** **_furious_ ** **with you, honest. We want you dead in a very painful way.” “This is just the calm before the storm. Once we are free? You will feel the wrath of the sky.”**

**“HEAR MY VOW, CELESTIA! IF IT TAKES A LIFETIME, IF IT TAKES A THOUSAND LIFETIMES, A** **_MILLION_ ** **LIFETIMES, YOU WILL** **_BURN!_ ** **YOUR FLESH WILL TURN TO ASH, AND FALL FROM YOUR BONES! YOU WILL SUFFER FOR WHAT YOU HAVE DONE, DO YOU HEAR ME!? I AM PYRAE DAEMOS, AND I WILL! HAVE!** **_JUSTICE!”_ **

Celestia shivered. “I’m sorry, Pinkie Pie, but as much as I would love to, I am afraid that that is not an option.”

Pinkie’s mane deflated and she bowed her head. “Oh. Alright...”

Twilight patted Pinkie on her back sympathetically. She then looked at Celestia. “So, what do we do now, Princess?”

“Go home,” Celestia said immediately. “Go back to Ponyville. This is my war, not yours. Scholar might be furious with me, but he has always abhorred involving the innocent in any form of conflict. I am positive you will be safe.  _Don’t!”_  She held her hoof up as Twilight opened her mouth. “Argue, Twilight. Please, the last thing I want is to see you and your friends get unnecessarily  hurt because of my mistakes. If there is anything you can do to help, I will ask, but for now...please, Twilight. Go home.”

Twilight stared at her quietly for a moment before nodding, turning around and silently walking away. The Elements followed behind her.

Applejack walked slower than the rest of them, trailing behind the group. No one else noticed as Rainbow Dash slowed her pace as well until she and Applejack were side by side as they walked. The pegasus glanced at the earth pony, her eyes filled with worry. Applejack caught sight of the look. In lieu of a verbal response, she raised a hoof to the brim of her hat and lowered it so that the shadow covered her eyes.

Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened in shock. She whipped her eyes forwards, keeping her face clear of expression. “How much?” She whispered in a dead tone.

Applejack kept her eyes shadowed. “One thing. The rest was true, but that one thing...it’s enough to shake my faith,” She raised the brim of her hat just enough so that she could look at Rainbow Dash out of the corner of her eye. “That gonna be a problem?”

Rainbow Dash tilted her head down just enough to keep hide her eyes with her mane. “Ever since I became an egghead, I’ve learned a lot of new words. Do you know what hypocrites are?”

“Yeah.”

“Good, because that’s what I’m not.”

And with that, the two lapsed into silence, their conversation completely unseen.

**-Present-**

The car was silent as the Elements and dragon contemplated what they had learned. “I...” Twilight started dully. “I’ve trusted the Princess my entire life...I’ve always believed in her...and now...”

“Well, Twilight dear,” Rarity said hesitantly. “I think that you can still trust the Princess. She did not lie to us, after all. she simply never mentioned it! And I can imagine why. It appears that fate dealt her a rather twisted hand.”

“But, um,” Fluttershy whispered. “What the princess did was still, and I’m very very very sorry to say this, but it was kind of...sort of... _mean.”_

Rarity sighed sadly. “And I’m not denying that. But she did apologize, so that’s better than nothing.”

Twilight silently turned her head away and looked back out the window. Her staring was interrupted by a claw poking her in the side. Looking down, she was met with Spike’s worried gaze.

“Twilight...” The young drake said softly. “This is Princess Celestia. You’ve known her for most of your life, and I’ve known her for _literally_  all of mine. She wouldn’t do anything to hurt us, you  _know_  that.”

Twilight was quiet for a second before smiling gently. “You’re right, Spike. Thank you. It’s just-!”

She was cut off by a sudden screeching and the train jerking forwards.

Twilight glanced out the window and saw that while the snow was still moving sideways, the landscape wasn’t.

“Well, looks like we’re here,” Twilight said, turning around to look at her friends. “Are you all ready to go?”

The Elements and Spike shook their heads and gave noises of dissent.

“Good, me neither.”

**-o-**

Twilight shivered as she stepped out into the freezing cold. “Brr...this place is  _freezing!”_

Rarity scoffed as she flaunted her winter clothing. “And you all made fun of me for packing so many scarves!”

Spike grunted as he walked out of the train, lugging almost half a dozen bags on his back. “I- _ergh-_  didn’t say a word!” He huffed proudly...until he slipped on a patch of ice and gave a cry of alarm as the bags went flying.  _‘Though I think I might,’_  He thought mutinously as he watched the scarves float off.

Twilight raised a hoof to shield her eyes from the wind as she tried to look for someone,  _anyone_  through the blizzard. For a while, all she could see was unending snow. Then...

“Twilight!”

She turned her head towards the voice, smiling gratefully. “Shining Armor!”

Indeed, it was her brother, his neck wrapped in a black scarf and his eyes shielded from the winds by a pair of black snow goggles, which he lifted off his face as he beamed at his sister. “Twily, you made it!”

The siblings dashed up to each other and hugged eagerly. When they let each other go, Shining Armor’s face became overridden with fear as he turned around and pointed into the tundra. “Come on, we better get moving,” His eyes were filled with terror and weariness. “There are things out here we really don’t want to run into after dark.”

The Elements glanced at each other uneasily, put off by his sudden shift of mood. Fluttershy was the one who spoke up. “W-w-what kind of things?”

“The kind of things that would make you all piss yourselves and run to find the nearest hole in which to curl up and shiver in fear.”

The Elements and Spike went stiff at the sound of the familiar voice before slowly turning around to stare up at who had spoken.

“But then again,” Scholar growled irritably. “I suppose a  _gnat_  would send you all running for the hills, wouldn’t it?”

Fluttershy and Rarity screeched and jumped away from him, Pinkie Pie took a step back, Applejack fell into a ready position, and Twilight’s horn lit up in purple light.

Rainbow Dash’s wings flared as she flapped towards him. “EAT HOOF, YOU ARROGANT-MMPH!” She was cut off by a slip of paper covered in runes being slapped across her mouth. Her infuriated yells were muffled as she tried in vain to rip the paper off.

“There,” He smirked. “I believe that to be an improvement.”

Applejack raised an eyebrow as she smiled ruefully. “I’m sorry, Rainbow, but Ah can’t lie. Say Scholar, Ah know we’re mortal enemies and all, but would you consider partin’ with a few dozen copies of that there paper?”

“MMPH!?!”

“Well, first off,” Scholar said casually. “My problem is with your royalty, not with you, so maybe. As for the trade deal, these are seal tags, not paper, and that depends. Tell, me, you wouldn’t happen to be descended from a pony called Calvados, would you?”

“Yup! Wow, you liked mah family’s apples two thousand years ago?”

“No, I liked their booze, loved getting hammered on the stuff, excellent way to get efficiently shit-faced; quick intoxication, low hangover. I assume you’ve maintained his farming and distilling practices?”

“Darn straight!”

“Excellent. How about a barrel of hard cider for a roll of, eh, forty-five seal tags?”

“That sounds mighty reasonable!”

“Then we have an accord.”

_“MMMMM!”_  Rainbow Dash screamed indignantly.

“Oh do shut up, you’re ruining the ambiance.”

_“ENOUGH!”_  All heads turned towards Twilight, her face twisted in fury. “Let her go, Scholar, or I  _swear-!”_  Her horn flared brightly, preparing to fire...

Until Shining Armor darted in front of her and stood up on his hind legs, forelegs spread wide. “Twily, don’t!”

Twilight’s horn faltered for a second before her lips pulled back in a snarl as her horn lit up even brighter and her eyes shone violet. “Get. Out. Of my brother’s head.  **NOW!”** She snarled.

Scholar raised an eyebrow at the outburst. “Well, at least you’re not underestimating me. Sadly, that’s a swing and a miss, so I’m afraid you’ve lost the Daily Double.”

“Oh! Oh!” Pinkie jumped up and down enthusiastically. “Can I buy a vowel?”

“Pinkie Pie, please!” Shining said desperately. He looked back at Twilight. “Twilight, I’m sorry. But as much as it pains me to say it, we _can’t_  hurt him. And on that note, he can’t hurt us either.”

The magic died away from Twilight’s being as she stared at her brother in disbelief. “But, Shiny, how can you-”

“Oh  _come on!”_  Scholar exclaimed furiously, spreading his arms wide. “And I heard that you were supposed to be smart!  _Look at me, Twilight Sparkle!”_  He roared. “Look at me and figure it out.”

Twilight was silent for a moment as her eyes darted over his body for a minute. Finally, they widened in realization.

“Your book. You don’t have your book on you. If you did, you would have used it instead of the tag. You’ve lost your book somewhere and can’t get it back,” Her eyes widened further in horror. “Something  _took_  your book and you can’t get it back.”

Scholar smirked again and crossed his arms. “Gold star, miss Sparkle. Indeed, there is evil here in the north. A powerful evil, one that presents a most violent adversary. It got my grimoire and now I can’t fight it on my own. Instead, I find myself forced to form an alliance with the pretty pink princess and the useless lump of flesh she calls a husband.”

Shining scowled. “Believe me, I enjoy the situation as much as you do, book maggot.”

“Keep it coming, ‘Shiny’. Meanwhile, I’ll just be reminiscing about the good old days. And every last one of Cadance’s old flames therein. Tell me, Mr. Armor, do you want to know if she loves you less than any of them? Believe me, I can tell.”

Shining Armor growled under his breath and shivered from the strain of not attacking the Rune Keeper.

Luckily, Twilight intervened. “Alright, the both of you, knock it off!” She yelled. “Fine, so we’re working together! Now, can we please get to the Crystal Empire before whatever you two are so afraid of gets us?”

Scholar and Shining Armor glared at each other for a moment before nodding in synch. “Fine,” The unicorn grunted.

“Agreed.”

“Good!” Twilight turned around and began to walk into the blizzard.

“Just one thing though,” Twilight halted as Scholar spoke again. “It’s called Vitrum. Not the Crystal Empire. Vitrum.”

Twilight didn’t turn around as she frowned in confusion. “How do I know you’re not lying?”

“Simple,” Scholar stated as he walked past her. “First, what reason do I have to lie? And second...” He turned on his heel and faced her, his eyebrow raised questioningly. “ _Who_  exactly told you it was called the Crystal Empire?””

Twilight opened her mouth to respond...then froze, her pupils dilating in realization.

Scholar let a small smirk play across his lips. “That look of dawning horror when the final nail enters the coffin. I  _live_ for that look. Now then!” He clapped his hands. “Off we go!” He began walking into the blizzard before stopping and turning around again. “Leave it,” He said coldly.

The ponies froze. “Scholar, what are you-?” Shining started.

“I’m talking to the dragon,” He continued. “Spike, was it? Spike, leave the suitcase.”

Spike blinked in confusion. “Uh...”

“If you think for even a second that I will be continuing ahead without my luggage-!” Rarity started.

“Then I will decide to leave you behind to perish, be it by frost or by the menace that stalks these frozen plains,” Scholar interrupted emotionlessly. “Leave. The. Suitcase.”

Rarity swallowed heavily. “Er, Spike, my dear-!”

She was interrupted by a purple blur dashing ahead of her. “Well, come on everyone! Times a wastin’!”

Scholar chuckled as he began walking forwards again. “Smart drake. Come on, people! Either shake a leg or freeze to death!”

And with that, the ponies all began to trot after him, Rainbow Dash still trying furiously to rip the tag off her. She gave a sidelong glare at Applejack as she chuckled.

“What?” The farmer asked innocently. “You snore and Ah like to buck apples in quiet. Look on the bright side, you get to keep sleepin’ and Ah can get my work done in peace! In mah opinion, that’s a win-win!”

“MMPH!”

**-o-**

The group trudged slowly across the freezing tundra, wind howling as it whipped and whirled around them, nipping at them with it’s icy fangs.

“Shining Armor!” Twilight shouted over the storm. “What exactly  _is_  out here?”

“Something keeps trying to attack the E- _Vitrum_!” The Captain called back, hastily amending his statement when Scholar glared at him. “We think-!”

_“Think!?”_  Scholar demanded incredulously.

Shining shot him a glare before looking forwards again. “Fine, it  _is_ the old unicorn king who cursed the Vitrum in the first place.”

The Rune Keeper growled furiously as he stomped forwards. “An absolute disgrace is what it is! He shouldn’t have been able to breach the outer defenses, much less conquer the entire city!”

Twilight frowned in confusion as she followed them. “But Princess Celestia sent me here to help  _protect_ the-Vitrum. If King Sombra can’t get in, then it must already be protected, right?”

Scholar grunted. “First, don’t call him ‘King’, that bastard is as much a legitimate ruler as Celestia is.”

“HEY!”

“And  _second!”_  He continued unimpeded. “It’s only a stopgap measure. Thanks to the harmony flooding Vitrum, we can’t access it’s oldest defenses. You know, the ones that have staved off armies time and time again? Instead, the only thing keeping Sombra from taking Vitrum over in seconds is a barrier that’s being maintained by Cadance at all hours of the day... a barrier that  _I created!”_ Scholar finished roaring furiously.

They walked on in silence for a few seconds before finally...

“Scholar...” Twilight asked quietly, barely audible over the wind. “Where are your friends?”

The mage whipped around in an instant, runes flying about him furiously, his face a mask of rage. He maintained the pose for almost a full minute...before deflating. All the energy left him in a single wave. Slowly, he turned around and began walking again.

“We got here almost a day ahead of Cadance and Shining Armor,” He croaked quietly. “We’d split up. We were trying to gather information. Then... _it_ , and it is an ‘it’, that thing is no longer a ‘he’, attacked us. From out of the blue, out of the  _ice!_ We tried to fight it, but...” He brought his hand up to his face, tears streaming beneath his face. “Nix and Null...they disappeared, went down swinging. They...they’re gone. And Gilda and Trixie...they were in the city itself...  I let them go on their own and...” He bit his lip, to keep himself from sobbing. “I haven’t heard from them since. Tried searching but...” He stopped, no longer able to continue.

Shining Armor gazed at him sadly for a moment before speaking. “When we got here...Sombra attacked us. We tried to fight, but we...we couldn’t do anything! It was like a ghost! Then, right when we were about to bite it, Scholar and Iron Will came to save us. He...he lost the Lexicon De Arcana,  _sacrificed_  it saving me and Cadance. If it weren’t for him...then we’d be just like the soldiers.”

Applejack blinked in confusion. “Hey, now that ya mention them, where  _are_  the guards that came with ya?”

Shining Armor made to answer...but was interrupted by a lone helmet clanging as it rolled by the group, propelled by the wind. They all watched in mute horror and resignation as it tumbled away.

“Ah retract the question,” Applejack said quietly.

“Mmhm,” Scholar hummed. “Now then, let’s get moving. Unless anyone else wants to join the very-much-dead club?”

There were no takers.

The group continued moving for about ten minutes before a shining blue bubble of magic appeared on the horizon.

The Rune Keeper grinned thankfully. “Thank Hermes, we made it!”

The ponies and dragon gave cries of relief.

All save Fluttershy. “Um, Scholar?” She asked timidly. “I’m sorry if this is rude, but um...where is Iron Will? I’m just worried and you haven’t said is all...”

Scholar frowned and bit his lip nervously. “He’s on the other side of the tundras, raising holy hell against Sombra. With any luck, he’ll keep it distracted long enough for us to cross the barrier.”

Suddenly, Iron Will crashed in front of them in a heap of bronze armor and muscle, groaning in pain.

Scholar swallowed heavily. “Then again, maybe not...”

Iron Will grunted as he stumbled to his feet. “Sombra...it’s...it’s coming!”

**BUUUUUWOOOOOOH!**

The ponies shivered in fear as a large horn rang out across the frozen plains.

“NO SHIT, HEMLOCK!” Scholar shouted fearfully.

In less than a second, a pillar of black smoke swept up over the ice behind the group, towering above them. A pair of sickly green eyes opened in the miasma, glaring down at the group with purple mist wafting off of them.

Spike shivered in horror, petrified by his fear...until Shining Armor’s aura picked him up and tossed him at Twilight.

“Go!” The Captain yelled. “I’ll hold it off!”

“No! There’s no way we can leave you!” Twilight protested.

“Speak for yourself!” Iron Will shouted as he dashed towards the barrier.

“Agreed!” Scholar yelled, right behind the minotaur. “I’d say it was nice to know you, but honestly, I hate your guts!”

“Scholar!” Celestia’s student shouted.

Shining Armor blasted a beam of light at the smoky being, but it dodged with ease. He looked over his shoulder at his sister. “Twilight, go! _NOW!”_

The purple unicorn hesitated for a moment before darting off behind the Concordians, Spike on her back and her friends close behind.

Shining lit his horn up defiantly as the smoke converged on his being, engulfing him completely.

Twilight sobbed as she galloped away from the menace. Catching up to Scholar, she scowled furiously at him. “You cowards! You abandoned him!”

“What!? Now we didn’t! We followed protocol!” He protested.

“He’s right!” Iron Will concurred. “Rule number 78: Anybody stupid enough to pull a heroic sacrifice deserves whatever fate befalls them!”

Twilight bit her lip. “But-!”

“Less yacking, more running like your asses were on fire!” Scholar shouted desperately.

They were getting close to the barrier. Forty feet, thirty, twenty...

Suddenly, the ice in front of them cracked and bulged before suddenly exploding in a blast of miasma and ice fragments, sending the entire group flying.

Twilight groaned as she got to her hooves. “Ouch...” She glanced around. “Well, at least everyone is on the right side...”

“TWILIGHT!” A voice shouted from over the chasm.

Or maybe not.

Twilight paled drastically and whipped around. “SPIKE!” She screamed. She lit her horn up and tried to teleport, but was interrupted by Scholar gripping the appendage.

“No chance in hell!  You’re going across that barrier!”

“No! I won’t leave Spike! You can’t make me!” She screamed and struggled.

“That’s where we disagree,” Scholar grunted as he slapped a tag on her forehead. The paper flashed for a moment before exploding in a pulse of power and launching Twilight into Iron Will’s waiting arms. “GO!” He bellowed.

Iron Will nodded and ran through the barrier, carrying the hysterical unicorn with him.

Scholar scowled as he looked over the gap. “This is going to  _suck...”_  He muttered under his breath.

Acting quickly, he threw a tag onto the ground a few feet ahead of him. He took a few steps back and then ran at the edge of the precipice. Once he was directly above the paper, he jumped, detonating the tag and propelling him clear across. He landed roughly in front of an absolutely  _terrified_  Spike.

“Yup!” He coughed, wiping the snow off his robes. “That sucked!”

The purple dragon shivered in fear. “S-scholar! Please, h-help!”

“Don’t worry, Spike, I’m on it. But before I do...” His glasses glinted mischievously. “Let’s play an old game from Concordia!” He took a few steps back from Spike, his smile evolving into a full-blown smirk. “Kick the dragon!”

The phrase took a few seconds to register in Spike’s head, but when it did he paled dramatically and stumbled away from the human. “Don’t kick the dragon!  _Don’t kick the goddamn dragon!”_

“Kick the dragon!” And with that, Scholar dashed up to Spike and punted him in the stomach, sending him flying clear over the chasm and straight through the barrier.

Scholar panted as he watched the dragon disappear into the veil of magic. “Now then, now that that’s over with...” He turned around slowly and glared at the smoke that was glaring at him. “I can deal with you.”

**BUUUUUWOOOOOOH!**

Scholar jerked his arms, producing a multitude of tags in both his hands. “BRING IT ON!” He roared defiantly. “I’M GOING TO EXORCISE THE  _SHIT_  OUT OF YOU!”

The smoke descended, and the battle began.

**-o-**

“LET ME GO!” Twilight shrieked as she flailed fruitlessly against Iron Will’s iron grip. “I NEED TO GET SPIKE!”

“What part of-YERK!” Iron Will grunted in pain as Twilight pegged him with her hooves. “Knock it off! If you go out there, you’ll end up on the back of a postage stamp!”

“What does that even- _ergh!-_ mean!?”

Iron Will slapped his forehead with his free hand. “Oh, right, those methods fell out of practice when Celestia took over. OUCH!” He yelped when Twilight got him in the stomach. “ENOUGH! Look, you’re no use to us dead, so just stay put until Scholar saves the scale-tail and gets here!”

“Are you nuts!?” She demanded. “He ran away from Sombra! What makes you think that he can save Spike!?”

**FLASH!**

“AAAAAAAHH!”

CRASH!

Iron Will blinked in surprise as a purple blur shot through the barrier and knocked Twilight clean out of his arms. “Well for starters, that,” He said dumbly.

Twilight shook her head, trying to reorient her thoughts. “Argh, what hit me?”

“Me...”

“Wha-SPIKE!” She screamed joyfully as she hugged the dragon. “What happened?!”

“A whole lot...” Spike groaned. “Twilight, can you promise me something?”

“Anything, Spike, anything!”

“Don’t make me play ‘kick the dragon’. Pleeeeeease...”

Iron Will sighed in relief and turned towards the barrier. “Scholar should be back soon enough.”

**FLASH!**

“OOF!”

Iron Will stared incredulously at the white unicorn that had flopped down in front of him. “Iron Will stands corrected.”

“Oooooouch...” Shining Armor groaned as he tried to get to his hooves.

“Shiny!” Twilight cried as she ran over to her brother’s side and helped him up.

“Twily...ARGH!” Shining Armor winced in pain as he tried to light his horn up, but was prevented by his magic painfully fizzling out.

Twilight gasped in horror as she caught sight of the problem. “Shining Armor, your horn!”

Shining Armor gazed mournfully at the appendage. What had once been clean flesh and bone was now studded with a slew of uneven black crystals.

“Forget his horn, worry more about his  _neck!”_  Iron Will snarled. His hand shot out and snagged Shining Armor by the neck and lifted him up to glare at him dead in the eyes. “Where. In the name of  _Hel!_ ** _IS SCHOLAR!?”_**

Shining Armor swallowed heavily as he struggled against the enraged minotaur’s grip. “I-I don’t know! He came out of nowhere and launched me through the barrier! B-but I’m sure he’ll be right behind me!”

**FLASH!**

“See!?”

“YEEEEAAAAAAARGHHHH!!!”

“SCHOLAR!” Iron Will shouted, tossing Shining Armor away and darting up to his superior. The Elements and dragon gasped in horror as they caught sight of Scholar’s body.

For the most part, the human’s body was unharmed. His right arm, on the other hand, was a whole different story. The forearm was coated in a slew of obsidian crystals. Unlike Shining’s, however, these were large and jagged. Black lightning cracked around and across them. Worse yet, they were spreading up his arm at a steady rate.

Iron Will brought his fist down on the crystals, but to no avail. “Damn it!”

Scholar jerked and spasmed as he clutched his shoulder in agony. “Seal t-tag! R-roman!”

“Iron Will knows, he knows!” The minotaur grunted as he searched through Scholar’s robes. Finally, he extracted a tag and slapped it on Scholar’s shoulder. “Twelfth Sermon of the Roman Pantheon: Isolation of Pluto!”

Not a moment too soon. The encroaching crystalline blight was halted at Scholar’s shoulder in a flash of runes and light, leaving his entire arm encased in a prison of onyx. He panted painfully as he gripped his shoulder and sat up, clapping his free hand on Iron Will’s shoulder. “Thanks, Iron Will,” He hauled himself to his feet. “You’re a good- _hurk!”_  He whipped his hand to his throat and began to choke.

“Scholar!?” Iron Will asked fearfully.

_“Agh! H-Harmony!”_  Scholar wheezed. He groped around his robes before whipping a tag to his throat. A flash of light and he began gulping down huge amounts of air. “Isis-be-damned manure-chugging stable-humping  _nag!”_

The ponies gasped in horror at his proclamation. “Watch your language, you ruffian! ”Rarity cried in indignity.

“Cram it, glue stick!” The beleaguered mage snarled vehemently. “Your precious princess’s harmony nearly smothered me!”

Iron Will’s eyes widened in panic. “Wait, what happened to the wards!?”

Scholar growled under his breath as he rubbed his sore crystallized shoulder. “Still in place but inactive because my magic bit the big one!” He rapped his fist on the black growths. “Blight crystals, seriously nasty magic nullifiers. We used them in prisons, really helped made life sentences stick.”

Iron Will tapped the crystals and jerked his hand back when black lightning zapped his fingers. “Any way to get them off?”

“Yeah, one,” Scholar scowled. “Excessive magic. We sure as hell aren’t going to find  _that_  anywhere nearby!”

“So, that would mean...” Shining started in horror.

“Our only hopes are Twilight Sparkle-ass, the five stooges, and Spikey the wonder drake?” The human mage snarked.

“Hey, I take offense to-”

“Kick the dragon!”

_“Don’t kick the goddamn dragon!”_

“To summarize,” Scholar deadpanned. “We are screwed.”

Shining sighed and shook his head as he stood up and began walking. “Alright, enough. Look, we’re all alive, and that’s what counts. Come on, let’s get to Vitrum.”

The group gave sounds of assent as they turned in the direction he was heading. The Elements and Spike gave shouts of surprise.

“Wooooow!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed. “Sparklerific!”

And indeed, it was. Vitrum glittered and shone in the artificial sunlight, an incredible display of crystalline architecture.

“Tsk,” Scholar scoffed. “That’s nothing. At least seventy-five percent of it is deactivated and underground. And what’s present isn’t even at it’s best!”

“As you’ve chosen to repeat again and again,” Shining muttered as he began to trot along the crystal road.

“Let me put everything back in order and I’ll leave you alone until I punt you off my property.”

Twilight sighed miserably. “You two don’t intend to shut up, do you?”

“No.”

“Not a chance in hell.”

“I was afraid of that.”

Unseen in the shade cast by Vitrum’s glittering structures, a shadowy figure watched the group’s approach. It’s eyes narrowed menacingly before it snuck away and faded into the darkness.

**To Be Continued...**


	11. Dark Heart

“It’s gorgeous!” Rarity gushed as she took in the glittering city before her.

The group of ponies, dragon, and magi had wandered into the city, walking along the main road until they were in the plaza located beneath the castle’s legs.

“Absolutely  _gorgeous!”_  She tripped over her tongue as she searched for something to say. “Th-there are no words!”

“Destitute.”

Rarity was snapped out of her thoughts as Scholar spoke in a dead tone, walking along slowly as he rubbed his shoulder.

“Downtrodden. Broken. Miserable.  _Those_  are the words to describe Vitrum in it’s current state.” He stated matter-of-factly.

“Wh-are you  _mad!?_ Have you  _lost_  your mind?!” The white pony protested. “Look at the magnif- _GLK!”_  Rarity was cut off by Scholar’s free hand snapping out and lifting her to his eye-level.

He forced her to stare into his eyes. Rarity froze in horror as she saw the void of emotion that lay within.

“Magnificent?” He asked quietly. “This is barely even a pittance. The magic is gone. The towers are gone. The archives and their expansive stores of knowledge, accumulated via years of dedication and sacrifice are gone. The students, eager to learn and please, all gone.  _He_  is gone.” Throughout the speech, his voice remained low and devoid of inflections. Scholar was merely listing facts. “Vitrum was broken and shackled long ago. All that’s left is its desicrated remains.”

Scholar was broken out of his tirade by a hoof knocking against his leg. Glancing down, he was met with Rainbow Dash glaring up at him. He held her gaze for a moment before clicking his tongue and shaking his head. “Whatever,” he said, releasing his grip and letting the white unicorn drop to the ground, coughing as she tried to regain her breath. “Not even worth my time...”

“Mph!”

“Hmm?” He hummed in curiosity as he glanced over his shoulder. “What? What is it?”

“M-mph!” Rainbow Dash grunted, pointing her hoof at the seal tag that was still firmly impressed upon her muzzle.

“Ah reckon that she wants to speak to ya, pal,” Applejack said simply.

The Rune Keeper stared at her for an instant longer before closing his eyes and turning away. “How about no? I have a feeling I know what she wants to talk about, and honestly? I’m not in the mood. Now come on,” He started walking towards the entrance of the castle. “Let’s move. Time is short.”

Applejack and Rainbow Dash made a move towards Scholar, but were cut off by a mountain of muscle and bronze armor interposing himself between them and the human.

The two flinched back as Iron Will glared at them before turning to follow his leader.

The ponies glanced at each other quickly before hesitantly following along, entering the heart of Vitrum.

**-o-**

Princess Mi Amore Cadenza breathed heavily as she sat on the crystal throne, magic rushing through her veins as she kept the shield functional. She glanced sadly out the window towards the artificial horizon.  _‘I can’t last much longer... but I can’t use that option either... if I do...’_  she clenched her eyes shut miserably.  _‘Both paths lead to ruin... we need a third option...’_

“Cadance!”

The princess’s eyes shot open in surprise at the voice, relief filling her heart.  _‘That’ll do it!’_

“Twilight!” She exclaimed joyfully, darting up to her sister-in-law, falling instinctively into their usual greeting.

“Sunshine, sunshine, lady-!”

CRASH!

They jumped back in shock as a pillar of obsidian crystal crashed down between them. Scholar glared imperiously at the two of them. “The world is on the brink of destruction in a very bad way and you two are wasting precious time on pointless pleasantries?” He stated coldly. “I expected that brand of foolishness from these untrained mongrels, but from you? You, of  _all_  people?” He shook his head in despair. “You were the last person whose blade I expected to dull so badly. Both you and this world... _truly_  disappointing.”

Twilight made to protest, but was cut off by Cadance’s raised hoof. “Twilight... he’s right,” She looked up at him sadly. “Not about all of it, but a good portion. I would love to get reacquainted... but now... now just isn’t the time, I’m sorry.”

“I...” Twilight sighed sadly. “Fine... fine, I understand. So... how bad are things around here?”

Shining Armor stepped up to help support his exhausted wife. “Cadance has been able to use her magic to-”

“Ahem!” Scholar coughed idly. “Choose your next words very carefully. Remember: Horn off then shoved up. And it is  _not_  an idle threat.”

The Captain shivered fearfully. “To... power a Rune Array that Scholar set up. It’s the only thing keeping Sombra out. She barely eats, barely sleeps...”

“I’d do it myself, but with the harmony in the air and the Lexicon gone...” Scholar scowled.

“Iron Will doesn’t have enough strength,” The minotaur sighed.

“I  _tried_  to use my own protection spell...” Shining Armor continued.

“But it folded like a house of cards seeing how it’s the top quality of a weak era,” Scholar stated matter-of-factly. Shining Armor made to speak up but was cut off by Scholar holding his hand up. “Sorry, my arm is killing me and any patience I have for you all, let’s just make this quick so I can guzzle something to kill my nerves.”

Cadance groaned as she stumbled slightly, rubbing her aching horn. “Shining Armor, please, I’m fine...”

“No, she isn’t!” Shining protested. “She’s getting weaker every day, and if her magic fades...”

Scholar hissed and flexed his shoulder. “This isn’t a fashion statement, you know. I’m not kidding, shoulder down, everything is pain.”

“Well, that’s why I’m here!” Twilight exclaimed.

“That’s why we’re  _all_ here,” Applejack reassured, raising her hoof to her friend’s shoulder. The other Elements all gave sounds of assent.

“Whoop dee doo, Elements of Harmony to the rescue, we’re saved,” Iron Will groused.

“Whoop- hey, you beat me to it!”

“Ergh...” Shining Armor rolled his eyes. “Anyways, with Cadance maintaining the barrier and me, Scholar and Iron Will fighting Sombra in the arctic, we haven’t been able to get any information from the Crystal Ponies!”

“Crystal Ponies!?” Rarity exclaimed enthusiastically. “There are Crystal Ponies!?”

“Yeah yeah, residents of Vitrum take on the sheen of the city, blah blah blah...” Scholar trailed off.

“We have to believe that one of them knows how we can protect Vitrum without Cadance’s magic,” he finished.

“... ‘we’?” Scholar asked in disbelief. “‘We’ believe? You.  _You_ believe they know how to protect it.  _We_  know how to protect Vitrum. And that  _we_  includes Mi Amore. Doesn’t it, m’dear?”

Cadance growled as she rubbed her horn. “Scholar, enough...”

_“No,_ Cadance!” He growled. “You know as well as I do that the old defenses are  _more_  than capable of holding off that smoky bastard!”

“And I told you already, Scholar! Those defenses are down!” The princess protested.

“They can be easily re-activated if you just dispel the damn harmony!” He roared. “Who knows, maybe with that  _filth_  gone I can rip this stuff off and I can show him how we used to do things!”

“That ‘filth’ as you call it, is our last line of defense! We can’t lose it!” She said angrily.

“Last line of defense my ass!” Scholar snarled. “That thing is going to tear right through it! A thing, I might add, that your precious princesses created!”

_“What!?”_  Twilight exclaimed. “How  _dare_  you blame the princesses like this!?”

“Read. My. Lips, you purple furball!” He growled, leaning in close to her. “They  _made_  that thing! Sombra is this powerful due to Celestia’s incompetence! Yet another display of her stupidity!”

“Scholar!” Cadance reprimanded. “While I’ll admit that Sombra reached new levels of power due to my aunt’s actions, it was not on purpose!”

“No, it wasn’t,” He agreed angrily. “It was sheer lunacy! Time and time again we have seen what happens when an elemental controller is transmogrified into their element! Volcanoes that had targeted eruptions, tsunamis that rolled in like clockwork, lightning storms that _aimed_  for supply depots! And what does Celestia do?  _Turn an Umbramancer into_ ** _SHADOWS!”_** He finished, inflecting his voice with magic...until the crystals on his arm crackled with black lightning, prompting him to cry out in pain and fall to his knees.

 Iron WIll dashed up to him and grasped his shoulders, helping him to stand. Scholar tried to weakly wave him off. “I-I’m fine, I’m fine...” He was cut off as his body was wracked with coughs.

The minotaur snorted in disbelief. “Clearly not. Sorry to disappoint, but Iron Will would rather Chrysalis not rip his head off for letting you get hurt. Iron Will will be sticking by your side from now on.”

“And leave them,” he gestured weakly at the Elements. “To do whatever they please? Decapitate me. It will be a kinder fate.”

“I... look? Can I get a word in edgewise?” Twilight asked tentatively.

Scholar scoffed. “Please, you wouldn’t know an edge if it bit you in the ass.”

Twilight sighed and rubbed her hoof over her face. “Look, Celestia sent me here to help,” She glared at him with a surprising amount of venom when he made to speak.  _“Maybe_  I can gather whatever information I can from the Crystal Ponies and deliver it to you.”

Scholar gave a derisive laugh. “What good would that do? The defenses around here are  _shot!_  So long as miss prissy pink princess keeps the air clogged, I can’t tap into the ley lines beneath Vitrum and fix this mess!”

“Maybe,” Twilight said, smiling smugly. “But see, I’ve been running some numbers. Between your imprisonment and Vitrum’s disappearance, there’s a gap of a few centuries. During that time, I’m fairly certain that the Crystal Ponies could have come up with an alternative means of defending themselves. Am I right or wrong?”

Scholar was silent as his eyes darted back in forth in thought before he finally sighed in resignation. “You’re right. Even on the bad end of a witch hunt, the students of the Academia Arcana would not abandon innocent lives. They would have come up with  _something,_  some way or another. It was their duty to protect the lives of the innocent. No matter how ungrateful,” This last part was muttered mutinously as he cast a venomous glance at Cadance. She met his gaze in a calm, neutral manner.

“Perfect,” Iron Will grunted. “So, Shining Armor will stay with Cadance and support her, which is all he’s good for,” The white unicorn scowled acridly at the minotaur.

“Celestia’s lackeys can search the city for anything that keeps us from becoming evil shadow chow-”

“HEY!” All the heads turned suddenly at the sudden exclamation. To the surprise of most everyone present, Spike was glaring furiously at the blue minotaur, smoke curling from his lips. “I am  _not_  a lackey!” He snarled.

Iron WIll blinked in shock. “Uh... right...” He quickly got back on the ball. “Anyways, I’ll find a table I can strap Scholar down on and start to chisel the crystal off of him.”

Scholar burst out laughing. “HAHAHAHA! Ah, that’s a good one Iron W-!” He cut off as he tried to run. However, Iron Will’s arm was faster, snatching Scholar by the back of his robes and hauling him off his feet, prompting him to struggle like a fish and cuss like a sailor. “DAMN IT IRON WILL, PUT ME DOWN!”

“Iron Will is sorry, Scholar,” Iron Will said in a false saccharine tone. “But you see, Iron Will can’t. Protocol won’t allow him.”

“WHAT PROTOCOL!?!”

“Twenty-eight, B, Kappa, Orion.”

“THE CARETAKER CLAUSE!? I  _VETOED_  THAT TREASONOUS PIECE OF LEGISLATION EVERY TIME A NEW EDITION OF THE RULES CAME ABOUT!”

“Yes, and every time you did, the Arch-magi voted it into place without your knowledge. In fact, if the records are accurate, each vote was completely unanimous.”

“WHEN CHRYSALIS FINDS OUT ABOUT THIS-!”

“Who do you think told Iron Will of a millennia-old protocol?”

“... That rotten  _traitorous INSECT!”_

Cadance covered her mouth with her hoof as she chuckled.

Scholar whipped his head around and snapped his arm up to point accusingly at her. “Oi! You don’t  _get_ to laugh!”

She snickered uncontrollably. “What can I say? The more things change, the more they stay the same!”

Scholar’s mood soured instantly. “Maybe from your perspective. Personally, I’m going to have to disagree. After all, from my perspective, my life’s work has been torn down and you’re a heartless bitch-  _oh wait!”_ He gave a harsh sarcastic laugh.“Never mind, I guess you’re right! Things  _are_  the same!”

To Twilight’s shock, Cadance glared at him with more venom than she had ever thought possible before the alicorn sighed and turned away. “Iron Will, take him away. Otherwise I’m fairly certain I’ll take advantage of the situation and snap his neck.” She had walked away for a second before freezing all of a sudden. Slowly, jerkily, she turned her neck around to stare in horror as her words registered in her head. “I-I...”

The ponies stared at Cadance in shock. Not because of what she had said, but the tone.

_‘She...she wasn’t angry...’_  Twilight thought dully.  _‘That... that was_ casual... _she might as well have been discussing the weather!’_

Scholar grinned in success. “Well well...I guess you were right. Things  _are_  the same,  _Tenebris Amor.”_

Cadance shivered violently before biting her lip and looking away. “Just... you all have your jobs to do. Please... go.”

There was a minute of silence before the Elements slowly turned around and trotted out of the throne room while Iron WIll carried a newly struggling Scholar out.

Once they were gone, Cadance fell to her knees and began shaking.

Shining Armor walked over to his wife and hesitantly raised a hoof to her shoulder. “Cadance...?”

He reeled back in shock when she flung herself at him and clung to his neck, sobbing into his mane. “I’m sorry... I’m sorry...” She muttered over and over again.

Nobody as a, almost a mile away on top of a crystal skyscraper, a dark shadow slipped off the roof and flew into the city.

**-o-**

Gilda hammered her armored claw on the crystal door. “Trixie! Trixie, open up! I’ve got some news.”

There was a moment of silence before the doorknob lit up in a black-purple aura and slowly turned, clicking the door open. Gilda pushed the door open, walked in, and locked the door behind her.

The griffon then shivered as the temperature hit her. “Brr! Damn it, Trixie! This place is freezing! Would it  _kill_  you to turn up the heat?”

“No,” a frigid, dead voice stated. “It would kill  _us.”_ A horn lit up in a black-purple light, illuminating the room.

The room resembled a meat-locker. The floor, walls and ceiling were lined with sheets of pitch black ice, causing the temperature to descend to nigh frigid levels.

And the room wasn’t the only dark thing.

Gilda and Trixie were... different. Their armor had been altered, covering them head to toe in dark purple crystals. Gilda’s wings and beak, Trixie’s horn, even their eyes were shielded by light purple lenses.

“After all,” Trixie continued in a deadpan voice. “Without this shielding, the royal annoyances would find us.”

Gilda flinched and rubbed the back of her neck. “Yeeeaaaah... see, about that...”

“Trixie knows,” The unicorn interrupted. “She knows everything in this city.”

Gilda shivered violently. “Geeze, don’t you just love being creepy.”

Trixie showed some emotions as she growled angrily. “Oh, Trixie is  _so_  sorry! But- wait, hold on...” She trailed off as she clamped her eyes shut and lit her horn up like a beacon, a dark purple aura wafting out from her eyes.

_“I'm sorry. I wish I could help you. But I... can't seem to remember anything before King Sombra came to power.”_

**FLASH!**

**_“Don’t even consider it.”_ **

_“A-And I don't_ want  _to remember anything about the time he ruled over us...”_

Trixie panted as she snapped her eyes open, glaring at her friend. “Trixie is busy keeping Celestia’s flunkies from discovering the existence of the Crystal Heart by suppressing the memories of a  _city!”_

Gilda brightened up considerably. “Ah, now see, I  _finally_  have some good news!”

The darkened unicorn raised her eyebrow. “Does it get us any closer to finding the Heart?”

Gilda raised a claw as she used her other one to fish around in her armor before proffering a yellowed page.  _“This_  is a page that I ripped out a little something known as  _The History of the Crystal Empire!_  It tells about the Crystal Heart and how it was powered by the Crystal Faire to protect the city!  _And!”_ She interrupted as Trixie began to become angry. “It also tells how King Sombra confiscated it and hid it somewhere in the castle!”

Her reassurances did little to calm Trixie, who grasped the paper in her magic and promptly incinerated it.  _“This_  is what you’ve been working on for a week!?  _This!?”_

“Hey, don’t diss me!” Gilda squawked. “Do you have  _any_  idea what I had to go through to get that thing!? Trap Arrays, curses, hexes! You know those statues outside the library? Word to the wise, they hit hard!”

“But how does this information help us!? After all, you’ve already checked the castle!”

Gilda was silent, swallowing heavily as she took a step back.

Trixie’s eyes widened, magic enveloping her being.  ** _“You didn’t check the castle!?!”_**

**“HEY!”**  Gilda snapped, wreathing her body in black lightning. “Sombra was a  _master_ at using mental magics! He subjugated this entire city by making it literally  _unthinkable_  to go against him! He must have used subconscious influencing to ensure that we couldn’t even consider the castle as an option!”

The unicorn snapped her eyes shut and began breathing heavily through her nose. “Get. To the castle. And find. That. Heart.  ** _NOW!”_** She finished, bellowing furiously as magic coursed out from her, prompting Gilda to dash out of the room.

The griffon panted as she leaned on the closed door. “Jerk!” She shouted.

A spear of black magic bursting out inches from her beak resulted in her darting for the nearest window and flapping towards the castle, all the while making sure she stuck to the shadows.

**-o-**

Scholar groaned as he leaned up on the table and flexed his neck. “God  _damn it_ Iron Will! It feels like something tried to gnaw my arm off! And I should know! I’ve lost this arm more times than I can count!”

The minotaur chuckled as he brushed away a few stray crystals. “That’s what tells us it was a success! Still, you have to admit it’s an improvement, right?”

Scholar grunted noncommittally as he looked his arm over. He was still crystal from the shoulder down, but at least it didn’t threaten to impale him whenever he let it rest at his side anymore. “I guess. Anyways, could you do me a favor and follow orders for once?”

“That depends,” The minotaur mused. “Are you actually going to give a sane order?”

“Go down to the kitchens and grab me something to drink that can potentially knock me off my ass before I turn you into a steak dinner,” the Rune Keeper groused.

Iron Will shrugged. “Suit yourself. Don’t go anywhere, alright?”

“Where would I go? Half the people in this place want me dead and the feeling is mutual.”

“Fair point,” Iron Will conceded. “Still, sit tight or else Iron Will will beat you black, blue and bloody.”

“Traitor...”

“Blah blah blah....” The minotaur trailed off as he walked out the door.

Scholar heaved a sigh as he fell back on to the table. “Slave driver...” He mumbled before heaving a yawn and closing his eyes. “Might... as well... sleep...”

There was a moment of silence as he started to drift off peacefully into sleep.

Then...

Poke.

Scholar scrunched his face up in confusion. “Hmm...?”

Poke. Poke.

He snapped his eyes open and shifted his eyes to the side. “Who...?” His face fell as he caught sight of who had poked him. “Oh. You.”

Rainbow Dash snorted through her nose as she glared at him.

Scholar flipped himself over so that he was facing away from her. “What do you want?”

Even facing away from her, he could feel her magenta boring into his skull.

Finally, he closed his eyes and sighed dejectedly. “Damn it... What the hell, might as well face the music...”

He sat up and swung his legs over the side of the table, facing her head on. He reached down with his free hand, clutched the side of the seal tag silencing her, and ripped it off painlessly.

“Be glad I don’t have my magic, otherwise you’d be missing all the fur on your lips,” He muttered. “So... what now? Are you gonna let me have it?”

Rainbow Dash didn’t respond, merely working her jaw and getting used to using her mouth again. Finally, she fell still and lowered herself down so that she was sitting on her flank, just... staring at him.

“Well?” Scholar prompted.

Rainbow stared at him for a moment longer before sighing and looking away. “... what happened to Gilda?”

Scholar blinked before sighing heavily and hanging his head, equally avoiding her gaze. “... as I said. I sent them in here on reconnaissance and when Sombra attacked us, everything went dark. I honestly have no idea where she is. Trixie neither.”

Rainbow’s head sank lower. “So... she’s...”

_“No!”_  Scholar snapped. “Absolutely not! Even if  _I_  don’t have magic, my robes and glasses do! The armor that they were wearing was built with cutting-edge state-of-the-art magic. It had built in health monitors designed to keep track of their vital signs. If they were dead, or heck, even critically injured, I would know in a second. That’s a guarantee.”

Rainbow Dash blinked as she processed what he had said before nodding idly. “Right... the armor...”

The human caught what she’d mumbled, but chose to ignore it. Instead, he folded his arms to the best of his ability and raised an eyebrow in confusion. “Why do you care so much? I thought that you ponies considered Gilda to be a bad guy.”

Rainbow Dash snapped her head up, glaring into Scholar’s glasses. “No, she was a bad  _friend!_  That doesn’t mean I wanted her to get hurt!”

He tilted back at her outburst. “Oh ho? My my, sounds like there’s quite the story behind that statement.”

The blue pegasus scowled. “You mean you don’t know? I thought that you guys were best buddies,” She muttered sourly.

Scholar sighed and hung his head. “I’m sorry to say it, but that’s not quite the case. I know their basic backgrounds, but everything before the reception happened really fast, and afterwards I wasn’t in the best of headspaces to discuss the past. Believe me, it’s a rule of mine to be friends with my subordinates. Less chance of getting a knife in the back. Or more, it’s hard to say.”

Rainbow Dash glared at him for a second longer before sighing and staring out the window. “We met in the Junior Speedsters Flight Camp. We hit it off and were best friends. But then, well... I know it’s been a long time, but I’m fairly certain you can guess what happened.”

“Hmm...” Scholar held his chin in his open hand. “You guys both grew up, left the camp, went back home and drifted apart.”

Rainbow Dash nodded tiredly. “In a few words, yeah. We exchanged a few letters now and then, but that was it. But... a few months back, she came to Ponyville to visit out of the blue. It... didn't end well.”

“Care to be a tad more specific?” Scholar inquired.

The pegasus flinched and rubbed her shoulder sheepishly. “Well... she kept trying to push away my friends and she caused a lot of trouble. And... when we tried to throw her a party, she flipped out and shouted at my friends.”

Scholar grimaced in confusion. “Wait, how does that make her a bad friend!?”

Rainbow Dash’s scowl re-asserted itself. “She couldn’t accept that I had new friends! I wasn’t saying that she wasn’t my friend anymore, but I couldn’t just stand by and insult my new ones!”

“Hmm...” Scholar hummed again, his eyes closed in thought. “Well... from my point of view...” He reopened his eyes and stared at her lazily. “It seems to me like  _you’re_  the one in the wrong.”

“WHAT!?” She yelped, jumping to her hooves and flaring her wings furiously. “WHAT THE TARTAR-!”

She was cut off by the black pillar poking at her throat. “Shut up, sit down and let me finish,” Scholar growled coldly.

Rainbow Dash swallowed heavily before scowling and sitting down again, keeping her wings flared.

“Now!” Scholar clapped his hand and the pillar together. “Here’s how I see things: Griffons are very solitary creatures, forming very few personal bonds, reserved solely for members of their flock. These flock-members are very, very close to them, almost family. Heck, they _are_  family. Pseudo-family, but family nonetheless.”

“Yeah? So?” Rainbow demanded.

The Rune Keeper sighed tiredly. “Impatient. Gilda considered  _you_ to be part of her flock. As such, her visit with you was very personal. To have someone try to get in between you two would be viewed as a deep, personal insult. Your friend, Pinkie Pie if I remember correctly, was lucky her throat wasn't torn out.”

Rainbow’s jaw dropped open before she swallowed heavily. “B-but what about the trouble she caused?! She screamed at Fluttershy for bumping into her, and she stole an apple!”

Scholar shrugged helplessly. Well you see, from what I’ve gathered, the griffon capital, Loondon, isn't very well off. In fact, it’s a griffon-eat-griffon city. Trigger-finger tempers, getting your meal where you can, that kind of stuff is an everyday occurrence. Combine being in a strange town and reeling her temper in to the extreme, and it’s not such a stretch of the imagination that she would fall into old habits.”

The pegasus tried to protest, but she clamped her mouth shut as she thought back to Junior Speedsters Camp. It hurt to admit it, but now that she thought back, Gilda was always quick to anger and she always made sure to clean her plate at every meal, no matter how much she might have grimaced at the lack of meat.

“But...” she whispered quietly. “Why would she come visit in the first place?”

Scholar was silent, bowing his head quietly. Finally, he spoke in a quiet tone. “My organization... the Academia Arcana... it has existed in secret for well over a thousand years. The lessons have been passed down via family. Father to son, mother to daughter, on and on. But... family lines die out. So, on occasion...” He raised his head, meeting her eyes with the emotionless light of one of his glasses.

“A disciple of the Academia will be granted permission to introduce a new student to the institution.”

Rainbow Dash’s pelt paled drastically and her pupils dilated, her breath coming quick and ragged. “She... she wanted me to join... your group?”

“Indeed.” Scholar concurred solemnly.

“B-b-but!” She protested. “I-I’m not- well, I mean, I like reading a bit, but-!”

The Rune Keeper waved her off. “Intelligence doesn’t matter. What truly matters is skill. Gilda might not have as many smarts as Iron Will or Trixie, but she knows how to fight and is a great flier. And from what she’s told me about you, you are too. Were you to receive some formal training, I’m certain you could be a successful Neophyte of the Academia, and who knows? Maybe even one day an Alumnus.”

Rainbow Dash shivered violently, clutching her head with her hooves. “B-b-but... that means that she would have... a-asked me to choose... between her... and the  _Wonderbolts?”_  She whimpered.

Scholar shook his head. “No. If anything, she wanted you to  _rebuild_  the Wonderbolts.”

Rainbow looked at her incredulously. “W-what!?”

“Allow me to explain. You see, back in the old days, there were two old orders that guarded the skies. The griffon’s Storm Knights, and the pegasi Wonderbolts. These twin leagues worked together to police the air. One tradition that they held was that if a Wonderbolt and a Storm Knight were close enough, they would be allowed to work together as a duo, guarding each others lives and standing together through thick and thin. These kinds of comrades were known as Wingmates. To become a Wingmate was the deepest, most personal kind of trust possible back then. the only closer bond would be marriage... and even then I have my doubts.”

Rainbow Dash could do nothing other than stare. “S-s-so...” she breathed.

“Gilda wasn’t giving you a choice between her and the sky,” Scholar said definitively. “She was giving you the sky and all it had to offer.”

For what felt like an eternity, there was silence. Rainbow Dash stared at Scholar in mute horror, and Scholar just watched her, gauging her reactions.

Finally, Rainbow Dash got to her hooves. Her mane obscuring her eyes in shadow. Without even a word, she walked towards the door. As she walked, the doorknob turned and the door opened, revealing Iron Will who was carrying a massive cask on his shoulder. He blinked in surprise as the pegasus walked past him and into the hall.

Iron Will closed the door and looked at Scholar in confusion. Before he could speak, the human held five fingers up, smiling mischievously beneath his hood. He then began slowly ticking the fingers down, one after another.

**-o-**

Rainbow Dash stood in the hall, breathing heavily as she stared at the wall. Slowly, she turned her head and gazed to the side, her eyes devoid of emotion.

Applejack was standing by the door, her head bowed and her hat lowered to shadow her eyes. The cowpony raised her head just enough so that she could look Rainbow Dash in the eye. Then, she spoke in a quiet, somber voice.

“Dash... never before in all Mah life have Ah wanted to hear a lie.”

Rainbow Dash’s eyes shot wide, her lips drawing back into a snarl. She took a deep breath, and then...

**-o-**

The last finger went down, leaving Scholar clenching his fist.

**“YEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAARGH!”**

**CRASH!**

Iron Will jumped in shock as an ear-splitting scream rang out from the hallway and a pair of hoof-prints imprinted themselves into the crystal door.

The minotaur stared at the door for a second before sighing tiredly and looking back at his snickering superior. “You just broke her, didn’t you?”

“What can I say? I’m a stinker! Now come on, let me see what you got! If my liver is still intact when the hour is out, I’m demoting you to neophyte!”

**-o-**

Gilda huffed and panted as she reached the bottom of the stairs and fell to her knees. “It’s... official...” she moaned. “I... hate... hidden... treasure...”

And with good reason. Not only did she have to sneak past Cadance to search the throne room, but upon finding the hidden stairway, she’d entered the third level of hell.

Spikes, flames, lightning, areas of twisted space, and more. Sombra had spared no expense guarding his deepest sanctum.

However, it was all for naught in face of the full skillset of one of the best rune-crackers in generations.

Finally, she regained her breath and got to her paws. “Alright, back to work...”

Looking around, she took stock of her surroundings. Surprisingly, the bottom of the shaft was bare, with only a wooden door set into the wall with a crystal set into the top of the frame.

Gilda took a step towards the door... and snarled furiously as the door slid along the wall to the opposite side of the chamber.

Gilda moved in a flash of black lightning, reaching the door in less than a second and digging her claws into the wood before it could so much as shift. “Listen to me, you damn dirty door,” she snarled. “Out of all the traps in this hellhole, you are the  _runt_ of the fucking litter, and I will be  _damned_  if I get beaten by a stinking door,  **do I make myself clear!?”**

The door remained silent, but she liked to imagine that she had felt it shiver in fear beneath her talons. “Good. Now then, second verse, same as the first,” she stated smugly as she raised her claws and fired a bolt of darkness at the crystal, forcing the door to swing open. Gilda smirked as she gazed into the open frame.

And then she stared.

She stared and stared and stared.

Until finally...

“YEARGH!” She screamed, slamming the door shut and collapsing to her knees, heaving violently as her stomach expelled its half-digested contents.

Finally, once she regained control of herself, she raised her head and redoubled her glare at the door. “Fine,” she grudgingly admitted. “Maybe you  _aren’t_  the runt. But...” She grunted as she dragged herself to her feet. “I will not...” She raised her arm again, pointing it back at the crystal. “Be beaten...” Her eyes flashed with determination.  **“BY YOU!”**

Black magic struck the crystal.

The door swung open.

**-o-**

Trixie groaned as she rubbed her horn. Something was happening in Vitrum. Something that was making her job much much  _much_  harder.

“Gilda...” She grunted. “Please hu-!” Her eyes snapped open suddenly in shock, her horn flaring as she tried to use her magic in vain.

_“Seeing all of this, I feel like I'm starting to remember. Remember things from before the king.”_

“No...”

_“Me too...”_

“No...!”

_“The Crystal Heart!”_

“No!”

_“Of course you can't! The whole purpose of the Crystal Faire...”_

“NO!”

_“Is to lift the spirits of the Crystal Ponies,”_

_“NO!”_

_“So the light within them can power the Crystal Heart,”_

**_“NO!”_ **

_“So that the Empire can be protected!”_

**_“NOOOOOOOOO!”_ **

_“I_ do  _work at the library!”_

Trixie’s spine went ramrod straight. She gave out a choked gurgling sound as she keeled over and fell straight on her back, foam dribbling from her lips.

_‘Gilda... please... I beg of you... hurry...’_  She thought numbly.

**-o-**

“I didn't know it was an actual relic!” Twilight panicked, pacing around the balcony as she proffered the offending item like it was obscene. Rainbow Dash had delivered the news not minutes ago and then ran off to help keep the Faire running. “The book didn't mention anything about the Crystal Ponies powering the Heart! There was a page missing! How did I not notice?!”

“It's alright, Twilight,” Cadance reassured, swaying on her feet. “It’s not your fault... it’s mine.”

Shining Armor looked at his wife with shock. “Cadance, what are you talking about!?”

“She’s talking about the fact that  _she_  is the one who created the Crystal Heart,” the ponies whipped around and watched as Scholar stalked onto the balcony.  _“And_  the one who brought it to Vitrum, isn’t that right  _Princess?”_  He hissed.

The pink Alicorn nodded sadly. It’s true. I created the Heart, and I founded the Faire.”

“B-but-!?” Twilight protested weakly. “I- why didn’t you tell us!?”

The princess groaned as she rubbed her aching brow. “Because of Sombra. He erased the Heart from my mind, the Crystal Ponies’ minds, all our minds...” her eyes shot open as she turned and snarled furiously at Scholar. “But you... you knew. You found out about the Heart, and you  _hid_  it from us!”

Scholar was unmoved, returning her furious glare with apathetic eyes. “There were more important things at stake.”

“Like what!?” Shining Armor demanded.

“The survival of Concordia.”

The ponies were floored by Scholar’s statement.

“...w...what?” Twilight breathed.

“You heard him,” Iron Will said quietly, stepping up to stand behind Scholar like a statue. “Should the Crystal Heart be recovered and restored, there will be a massive,  _massive_  surge in pure, unadulterated Harmony. It will destroy Sombra... and us along with it.”

Twilight and Shining Armor stared at the two in mute horror while Cadance turned away and stared out over the balcony and into the distance.

“And when he says ‘us’,” Scholar continued. “He doesn’t just mean he and I. He’s including Trixie and GIlda in that count as well, wherever they might be. See, our bodies have acclimated to having a certain threshold of magic in our systems. When that surge happens, it will hit us all like a wave of lava. It’d be kinder to  _exsanguinate_ us. But then...” He shifted his gaze over to Cadance. “You knew about this... didn’t you?”

The unicorn siblings slowly turned their heads and stared in horror at the pink princess.

She didn’t react, not even flinching an inch.

“...Cadance?” Twilight breathed. “Cadance...tell me they’re lying...”

Cadance sighed heavily and bowed her head. “It’s a fact in life, Twilight,” She whispered quietly. The Alicorn turned around, her expression kind. Benevolent.

“The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.”

Twilight felt as though the ground fell out from beneath her hooves. “Cadance...” Her voice was choked with tears.

Cadance ignored her, staring into Scholar’s eyes, the smile still present on her lips. “You and your friends are a threat, not just to Equestria but ponykind as a whole. If I let you reactivate the old defenses, then you’ll eject me from the city, banish me forever. I have lived in the _Crystal Empire,”_  she emphasized the words, making Scholar grit his teeth in annoyance. “For centuries. I failed to protect it once and as a result I lost my home. I will  _not_  let you or anyone take either it or my little ponies away from me ever again. Am I clear?”

Scholar breathed heavily, staring deep into her calm, kind eyes. “I knew it,” He whispered. “I knew that you couldn’t change. At your core, you are and always will be  _Tenebris Amor._  The Dark Love.”

Cadance nodded in agreement. “Willing to do absolutely anything to protect those I love, no matter how dark and no matter how foul. Now then...” Her horn lit up even brighter as she flared her wings. “You’ve outstayed your welcome. Leave now, or I will  _personally_  eject you from the premises.”

Scholar and Iron Will stared at her coldly for the longest time, until finally...

The Rune Keeper solemnly bowed his head and turned away. “Come on, Iron Will,” He intoned in a depressed voice. “There’s a Faire going on. If we’re going to go out, I refuse to do it sober.” And with that, he walked off of the balcony and into the castle.

Iron Will followed him sadly with his eyes before turning and glaring at the ponies. “I hope you’re proud of yourselves,” He snarled. “You’ve just destroyed the hopes of a great empire and a great man.” He snorted a final time and followed in his commander’s footsteps.

Twilight and Shining Armor watched with their jaws agape as the two walked away. They made whipped their heads towards Cadance, trying to decide what to say... when they just stopped and stared.

Gone was the smiling, confident pony who had been present not seconds ago. In her place was a miserable, sobbing wreck whose face was buried in her forelegs. “Again...” She gasped. “Again and again... why can’t I stop?  _Why can’t I stop!?”_

The siblings glanced at each other before kneeling beside the Alicorn and comforting her to the best of their abilities.


	12. Reminiscing Over Rum

Fluttershy swallowed nervously as she trotted through the fair’s backstreets, glancing left and right between the tents and booths as she went. _‘Oh dear, oh my, I hope she doesn’t find me...’_

All of a sudden, a voice piped up from behind her. “Fluttershy?”

“EEP!” The pegasus jumped in fear, dashing beneath one of the tents in an attempt to escape. “G-g-go away, Dash! I already told you I d-don’t want to be a part of the tournament!” She whimpered.

“Um, Fluttershy? What are you talking about?”

The pegasus hesitantly hesitantly peeked under the canvas. Her mind blanked with joy when the first thing she saw was pink. “Pinkie Pie!” She gushed quickly zipping up to the Earth Pony and hugging her tightly. “Oh thank goodness! I thought that you were Rainbow Dash!”

“Uh... really? Why is that?” The party pony asked in an uncharacteristically hesitant manner.

Fluttershy blinked in shock. “Uh, she wants me to participate in a jousting tournament, but... Pinkie Pie, are you okay?” She leaned back a bit and took a look at her friend before gasping in shock from what she saw and whipping her hooves to her mouth. “O-oh my goodness!”

Pinkie Pie’s mane was limp and flat, and she gave off an aura of haunted sadness.  _‘Just like the birthday incident...’_  Fluttershy recalled in horror. “P-pinkie Pie... what’s wrong?”

Pinkie Pie bowed her head, hiding her face behind her mane. “...I made a mistake... and I really hurt a super-duper friend of mine...”

Fluttershy paled dramatically before engulfing her friend in a hug. “Oh Pinkie Pie... tell your Aunt Fluttershy what happened...”

Pinkie Pie hiccuped as she laughed humorlessly. “T-that’s my schtick.” Nonetheless, she told Fluttershy what had happened. 

**-Five minutes earlier-**

Rainbow Dash was lost in her thoughts as she stood behind the counter to one of the stalls, her body moving on autopilot as she reanalyzed events events she had tried her best to forget.

_“What!? C-come on Dash, you’re joshing me!”_

_Betrayal, fear, world falling away beneath her paws._

Dash shivered violently as she shook her head, trying to dispel the memory. Trying her best to send the thoughts away, she picked up one of the instruments arrayed on the counter and held it up for all to see. “Who wants a flugelhorn?” She called out.

“I want a flugelhorn!”

Rainbow Dash nearly jumped out of her skin as she looked to her left and was met with the sight of a grinning Pinkie in a jester outfit.

The blue pegasus felt cold sweat trail down the back of her neck as more memories came rushing back.

_“_ _N-no way... It was P-Pinkie Pie! She se-set up this party to t-t-trip me up! T-To make a fool of me!”_

_Desperation, pleading, begging to be right, for her worst nightmares to be untrue._

Rainbow Dash snapped her eyes back towards the crowd, trying to drown out the pain. “WHO  _ELSE_ WANTS A FLUGELHORN!?” She pleaded desperately.

Pinkie Pie scowled, rearing up on her hind hooves as she tried to regain Dash’s attention.  _“I WANT A FLUGELHORN!”_ She shrieked.

Dash’s  pupils dilated as the high-pitched voice dislodged the worst memories of all.

_“RRGH! OH YEAH!? WELL YOU, YOU-!”_

_Outrage, fury, more betrayal._

Rainbow Dash’s breath shuddered through her, her heartbeat pounding in her ears.

_“YOU ARE SUCH A, A FLIP-FLOP! COOL ONE MINUTE AND LAME THE NEXT!”_

_Accusation, blame._

_‘Please...’_  Rainbow Dash thought numbly.

_“When you decide not to be lame anymore...”_

_Resignation, regret, despair._

_‘Please, no more...’_

_“Gimme a call.”_

_Tears sparkling in the sunlight as she flies away._

_As for the first time ever, she runs._

Rainbow Dash’s mind blanked as she tried to escape.  _“WHO ELSE WANTS-!”_

“RAINBOW DASH!”

_“WHAT!?”_  She shrieked, wheeling around to face Pinkie Pie. What she saw halted her in her tracks.

Gone was the perky smile and gone was the goofy hat. All that was left was a concerned friend.

“Rainbow Dash,” Pinkie whispered. “What’s wrong?”

Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to rebuke her, to give reassure her that she was fine and that nothing was wrong. She opened her mouth to display her usual air of strength and bravado.

She then let out a choked sob and threw herself at Pinkie Pie, clinging to her as everything that had happened and every realization as to her absolute  _idiocy_  poured out of her, broken only by Rainbow’s bawling and gasps for breath.

Pinkie just stood there, holding her friend as she wept miserably.

  **-Present-**

“Oh my...” Fluttershy whispered once Pinkie Pie had finished speaking. “I suppose that would explain why she was so distracted and didn’t listen to me saying I didn’t want to help her with the jousting...”

“Mm-hmm...” Pinkie mumbled in agreement. Slowly, she began walking aimlessly amongst the tents, Fluttershy scrambling to follow along her. For a minute, she was silent. Then...

“She was right...” Pinkie muttered, prompting Fluttershy to give her a confused look. “Gilda... she might have been mean, but she  _did_  care about Rainbow Dash. I should have just left them alone. I mean, maybe if I had just given Gilda some time to cool off... if I’d just  _listened_ to you...” the party mare’s voice began to choke with tears.

_“Enough!”_  Fluttershy cut her off, whipping her hoof around her neck and hugging her close. “Look, Pinkie, you made a mistake!  _Maybe_ you could have made some better decisions,  _maybe_ you could have told Rainbow Dash to hold back on the pranks, but the fact is that’s all they are:  _maybes!_  The past is the past! We can’t change it, all we can do is live with it. It’s a lesson that’s been becoming rather apparent lately...” They walked on for a second before Fluttershy’s pupils dilated and she gave out a sudden whimper.  _“EEP!_  Er, I mean, that is to say, oh dear...”

Pinkie was silent as she was pressed against Fluttershy’s barrel. Then, she pulled away and shook her head. “But it doesn’t change the results either... Rainbow Dash is miserable... and it’s all because of me...”

Fluttershy stared at her for a second before groaning and pressing her hoof to her forehead. “Oh dear, I’m not getting through to you... I guess there’s only one answer...”

The earth pony gave her a morose look. “What, find Gilda and apologize?”

“Well, I suppose that would work, but I was thinking something more...  _immediate.”_

Pinkie Pie sighed tiredly as she hung her head.“Meaning?”

“Cold hard liquor.”

_That_  made an impact on Pinkie, causing her to stumble and nearly faceplant. She wheeled around and gaped at the quiet mare.  _“Come again!?”_

Fluttershy nodded decisively. “You heard me: alcohol. It’s a good way to loosen up and relax. Sure the hangovers might make loud noises a bit painful, but the immediate effect makes it well worth it.”

Pinkie Pie blinked in shock for a second before a thought hit her and she eyed Fluttershy with suspicion. “Wait, Fluttershy,  _how_  do you know that?”

Fluttershy panicked for a second before hastily producing a calm face and beginning to push Pinkie ahead, cold sweat trailing down her pelt. “U-u-um, t-that’s not important. N-n-now come on, I know a- _I think_ there’s a booth serving alcohol this way!”

Pinkie Pie wasn’t fooled, her thoughts racing a mile a minute before a sudden realization hit her. “Fluttershy, are you always so quiet because you’re-!?”

_“Pinkie Pie.”_

The  party mare froze and slowly turned to stare at Fluttershy.

She wasn’t angry. She wasn’t sad or scared. The cream-colored pegasus was smiling pleasantly, calmly. And it was scaring the piss out of Pinkie.

“Pinkie,” Fluttershy continued quietly. “You do not want to continue that line of thought. Or repeat it. To anyone. Ever,” she tilted her head slowly, her smile widening a few inches.  _“Am I clear?”_

Pinkie Pie nodded hastily.

Fluttershy straightened up again, her smile once anew  becoming truly perfect. “Great! Now come on, let’s get going!” She trotted on ahead, Pinkie Pie following hesitantly behind her.

After a few minutes, they came to a large tent whose flaps were closed. Fluttershy nodded happily. “Here we are! This place has some great vintages, I’m sure you’ll like it!” She walked in, ignoring Pinkie’s hesitant looks.

The inside of the tent was lit by a single lamp hanging from the rafters. Tables were strewn about here and there, and set up in the back was a bar with several bottles and casks behind it. Standing behind the bar and cleaning a glass was a dark green unicorn stallion with a light brown mane. The aura encapsulating the glass was a rich purple. His cutie mark was a bottle of champagne with foam bubbling out.

Catching sight of Fluttershy, the unicorn smiled enthusiastically. “Miss Shy! Glad to see you again! Back for another round?”

The mare returned his smile, walking up to the bar and placing her hooves on it.. “Thank you, Crystal Carafe! And sure. But first, this is my friend Pinkie Pie. She really needs to have some too.”

“Oh?” Carafe looked the uncharacteristically reticent mare over. “What’ll you be having?”

“Balkan 176, on the rocks,” Fluttershy responded without hesitation.

Carafe whistled appreciatively. “Balkan? Yeesh, are you trying to help her or kill her?”

Fluttershy shrugged indifferently. “She needs to forget, I’m just trying to help. Either way, it’s personal and not really your business. Sorry.”

Carafe sighed dramatically as he went about shuffling with the various bottles available to him. “Of course. Seems to be the norm nowadays. I might not remember much, but I do remember that people used to actually  _talk_  to the person serving the drinks. Ah well,” he suddenly stopped searching and frowned. “Blast! Sorry miss Fluttershy, looks like I left it back at the shop. Didn’t think anyone would need that kind of mental trauma, mind if I run out and get it?”

Fluttershy waved her hoof. “No no, take your time. It’s refreshing to be the one in charge for once.”

Carafe trotted out from around the bar and out the tent entrance.

Pinkie was silent, gaping at Fluttershy. “F-fluttershy, how long... how do I put this...”

“How long have I been a professional alcoholic?” She didn’t flinch at Pinkie’s shocked look. “What? Liquor is great at dulling one’s sense of shame.”

“Right. Again, how long?”

“Weeeell...” Fluttershy tapped her chin in thought. “Do you know Berry Punch?”

“The mare who runs Vintage Vintages? Yeah, she supplies me whenever I make a flambe or pineapple upside-down rum cakes. Why?” Pinkie asked hesitantly.

“Well, you see, she was one of the first ponies I met when I came to Ponyville. She saw that I was so scared of everything and decided to help me out. She suggested I try some ‘liquid courage’ and I agreed,” Fluttershy brought her hoof to her mouth as she giggled at the memory. “Three bottles of some nicely aged Grand Palomino and I knew there was no going back.”

“I guess...” Pinkie trailed off. “Look, Fluttershy-”

“Before you start, I do  _not_  have a problem!” Fluttershy interrupted hastily. “ See,  _this_  is why I didn’t tell you all! Listen, I drink  _casually,_  in a  _professional_ manner. Why do you think I stay on the ground, or in my house so often? I know better than to fly under the influence, I keep my alcohol levels where I can control myself whenever I have to go out and I  _always_ stay inside whenever I decide to go over the edge! Besides, I  _need_  it! You try dealing with twenty plus species, some of whom are meat-eaters, and  _Angel Bunny!”_  

Fluttershy growled as she kneaded her forehead in frustration. “I swear to you, that rabbit has no idea how many times the bottle has kept me from  _wringing his_   _scrawny neck and FEEDING HIM TO THE-!”_  The pegasus cut off as she reached over the bar, withdrew a bottle and chugged it in ten seconds flat. She panted as she slammed it on the counter. “Sorry, but he  _seriously_ grates on my nerves.”

Pinkie made to reply, but was interrupted by a familiar voice.

“Well what do you know? There’s actually some spine in you. I thought you were just rainbows and butterfly crap.”

Pinkie Pie paled significantly and whipped around to stare at the memorable Rune Keeper standing above her.

Fluttershy was unmoved, staring at him in a decidedly unimpressed manner. “Hello Scholar.”

Pinkie Pie was shivering in fear as she watched him. “W-w-what are  _you_  doing here?”

Scholar scoffed as he sat down at the bar. “What do you  _think_  I’m doing in a bar?” He asked venomously. He punctuated his point by slamming a clear glass mug on the counter.

Fluttershy leaned over and sniffed it in a contemplative manner. “”Hmm... Bacardi 151, light and dark rum, apricot brandy, orange, pineapple and lime juice, sugar, champagne and...” Her eyes widened in shock. “Absinthe!? What did you do, mix together a Zombie Cocktail and a Death in the Afternoon!?”

Scholar gave her a shocked look. “Alright, I’ve heard everything you’ve said, and even  _I’m_  starting to get disturbed.”

The pegasus was unimpeded. “What are you trying to do,  _kill_  yourself!?”

The human’s mood soured as he looked back over the bar. “Forgive me for trying to go out on my own terms.”

Fluttershy gave him a contemplative look before shaking her head. “No, you’re lying.”

CRASH!

Pinkie cowered behind her pegasus friend as the thick glass shattered in Scholar’s grip. Black lightning danced over his arms’ crystal sheath as he slowly turned to stare at her, his glasses flashing furiously.  ** _“What.”_**

Fluttershy was unmoved, merely staring at the impotent researcher morosely. “Scholar, please, don’t patronize me. I just had a bottle of Chateau Prance 1347 that does  _not_  taste like vinegar. I still owe Berry Punch a black eye for that, but anyways. You don’t scare me, I’ve faced down a  _manticore_  on less. Now then, that combo  _could_  be used to cause liver failure  _unless_  it has a lemon twist in it, which it does. After that, all it can do is drown your sorrows.”

Scholar stared at her for a second before groaning and slamming his head on the counter. “You remember how I’ve been  _constantly_  griping about Vitrum being different?”

“Why do you think I tried to find an alcohol shop?”

“By this point I’d imagine it would be second nature for you. Anyways, I’m not just pissed because I used to  _live_  in this place. It’s not just because everything has changed.” He sighed as he clenched his eyes shut. “It’s because I helped  _build_  this place from the ground up... and... I miss the friends who helped me do it.”

Fluttershy gave him a shocked look before softening her eyes and reaching over to rub his shoulder. “Tell me about them.”

Scholar was quiet for a moment before sighing tiredly.

**~~~**

**Scholar muttered vehemently as he poured over the plans arrayed in front of him. “This goes here, that goes there- wha-!? Are you kidding me!? Who the hell put- DAMN IT!”  
**   
**He roared furiously as he snapped his grimoire open and promptly blasted the table with a rather volatile Array.**   


******“Now what did those poor blueprints ever do to you?”**

**Scholar scowled as he breathed heavily, reaching under his glasses as he rubbed his eyes. “What are you doing here Daemos?”**

**A deep chuckling behind him prompted Scholar to turn around and glare at the source.**

**He was a dragon, mighty and powerful. He was about sixty feet long, ten composing his head, fifteen his tail, and the remaining thirtyfive making up his trunk. His body resembled a mobile volcano, dark red cracks spider-webbing across his stony hide. His vast grey and red wings were folded at his side but were nonetheless majestic. His lips, jagged spikes that formed a facsimile of a second set of teeth over his natural dentures, was set in a wry, lax grin. His crimson eyes held vast stores of knowledge and a kind of lazy kindness.**

**He laid down with a resounding THUMP!, his head resting upon his crossed arms. “What?” He drawled, smoke floating languidly from his jaws and nostrils. “Is it a crime for me to visit my friend as he works on one of our world’s greatest undertakings?”**  

**Scholar growled under his breath as he looked over the debris with disdain. “Try folly. This plan is insane! I mean, all the individual portions and pieces are great, but fitting them together is... inconceivable! If so much as a single rune or array is out of place, once we hook this ‘Vitrum’ up to the lines, it’ll take a generous chunk out of the planet! I’m telling you, Daemos, this endeavour is in vain!”**

**The draconic elder hummed contemplatively before snorting out a stream of smoke. “In my opinion, your ire lies less with the endeavor, more with it’s progenitor. Am I correct?”**  

**The Rune Keeper was silent for a moment before snorting in contempt. “He** ** _betrayed_** **his own kind.”**  

**Daemos hummed in agreement. “True enough. And a good thing too. Had he not given us his aid, his species would have leveled the world with their rage.”**

**Scholar scoffed, turning his head away.**

**The dragon continued nonetheless. “And lest you forget, I too let my race meet its end.”**

**The human wheeled around instantly, his eyes wide. “Woah woah woah, there’s a** **_big_ ** **difference! Your kind went to war on their own, you tried to warn them off, they were just too arrogant to listen!”**

**Daemos shrugged indifferently. “Mayhaps. But the basis remains the same. One cannot blame the individual for the mistakes of a species.”**  

**Scholar was silent for a second before he nodded in grudging acceptance. “I’ll acknowledge that, fine...” He scowled at the drake. “But still... he helps us destroy his own species and in return we help him achieve** **_immortality?_ ** **That can’t be right.”**

**Daemos sighed as he slowly shook his head. “Me thinks thou dost protest too much... and that you are acting narrow-minded.”**  

**_“What!?_ ** **I-!”**

**“Be quiet and listen,” the dragon admonished. “You focus so steadfastly on his faults that you fail to see the similarities you two share. Ask yourself,** ** _why_** **does he require immortality?”**  

**Scholar frowned as he mulled the question over. “He fears death, obviously.”**  

**“Oh? Then why did he charge so resolutely and so assuredly into battle against his kind?”**  

**“Well what’s** **_your_ ** **explanation, stone-scales!?”**

**Daemos groaned and blew a cloud of smoke. “Impatient. His motivation is fear, true, but not of death. What he fears is** ** _ignorance.”_**  

**Scholar gave him a shocked look before waving his hand for him to continue.**

**“When I look into his eyes, I see the same spark I see within you. A love, an** ** _addiction_** **to knowledge. What he fears is the idea that when he dies, he will still have some questions,** ** _any_** **questions left. Should that occur, all of heaven’s pleasures would be left lacking, and all of hell’s torments would pale in comparison. There is too much curiosity in his mind and not enough time in his natural life. Should he desire to one day leave this world in peace, then he requires liberty from the shackles of mortality. It’s as simple as that.”**  

**The Rune Keeper stared at him in shock for a second before sighing tiredly. “You’re... right. Damn it, I forgot my core dogma: intelligence and talent above all else. I’ve been a fool,” he gave Daemos a grateful look. “Thank you, old friend.”**  

**The massive reptile laughed heavily. “Not a problem! We all need to be drawn to earth on occasion. Glad I could be of assistance.”**  

**Scholar chuckled in response before frowning as a thought struck him.**

**Noticing the look, Daemos cocked an eyebrow. “What’s with that contemplative look?”**  

**“It’s just...” Scholar cupped his chin in thought. “I’m starting to realize that I’ve never seen you angry before.”**  

**The dragon blinked in surprise. “Hmm? What are you talking about? I’ve been angry plenty of times. Remember that slaver’s ring we disbanded a month back?”**

**The Rune Keeper shook his head in the negative. “Wrong kind of angry. Sure, you were mad, but that was** **_cold_ ** **fury. What I’m talking about is rage, pure,** **undiluted,** ** _roaring_** **rage. Seriously, in all the time I’ve known you I’ve never heard you roar!”**

**Daemos tilted his head in confusion. “Well why would I? Sure, I can be rather angry at times, but by no means do those situations require me to act like a barbarian.”**

**Scholar whistled appreciatively. “Geeze, I knew it was true before, but you really** **_are_ ** **the most pacifistic dragon alive, aren’t you?”**

**Daemos shrugged. “And if I am?”  
** ****

**Scholar waved his hands hastily. “I’m not saying that’s a problem, of course not! But...” He tilted his head and grinned mischievously. “I can’t help but be curious! Come on, roar! Just this once, so that I know what it’s like! Pleeeeease!”**  

**The dragon blinked tiredly as he looked his friend over. “Are you sure?”**

******Scholar’s smile was face-splitting as he nodded.**

**Daemos sighed and shrugged indifferently. “Very well...” He slowly raised himself to his claws, his joints creaking and popping. “So be it...”**

**Slowly, he inhaled, rubble around the room inching towards him as large amounts of air proceeded to inflate his lungs. For the longest time he held it in.**

**And then, finally,  he exhaled it all...**

**...in a tremendous yawn, a wispy cloud of smoke billowing out and engulfing Scholar, forcing him into a coughing fit.**

**Daemos made a smacking sound as he laid back down, his eyelids at half-mast. “Nope, can’t do it. I’m not properly motivated.”**  

**Scholar hacked and weezed as he tried to clear his lungs. “Egg... smashing... tail... humping...!”**  

**“Nope, not going to work,” the dragon admonished. “It needs to be something truly fantastic. Something that will induce a truly horrific rage in even the calmest of beings.”**  

**“So, what...” Scholar grumbled as he patted his robes out. “Somebody skipping out on the check or something?”**

**Daemos responded with a flat look. “I meant** ** _sane_** **beings, not stingy jackasses like Solum.”**  

**“Point taken,” Scholar sighed dejectedly. “Ah well, looks like I won’t hear your roar any time soon.”**  

**“Indeed.”**

**Scholar sighed and began walking towards the door. “Eh, too bad. So be it! Come on, want to go grab a bite to eat?”**  

**“Actually...” Daemos narrowed his eyes as he glanced at Scholar. “There’s a slight problem with that.”**  

**Scholar froze mid-step, his body twitching slightly. “O-oh?” He stammered hesitantly. “W-w-what’s that?”**  

**“The reason I came here... was to pick up the latest blueprints for the tertiary defense array.”**  

**Scholar’s twitching increased. “Y-y-yeah?”**  

**“And unless I’m mistaken, those would be the plans you just** ** _destroyed,_** **correct?”**  

**“Uhhhh...”**  

**“You realize you’re going to have to start again from scratch, correct?”**  

**“..."**

**_SLAM!_**  

**“GET BACK HERE, MONGREL!”**  

**“MAKE ME, WORM!"**

 **~~~**

Fluttershy was silent as she consoled the sad human, Pinkie Pie shaking slightly as she watched from behind her mane.

Scholar closed his eyes as he continued. “They were my first friends. And the best. Sure, they were loud, crazy, violent, and at times we even hated each other’s guts... but when you got right down to it, we were willing to die for each other at the drop of a hat. And  _that_  is the basis for true friendship.”

“Wow...” Fluttershy whispered in awe. “That’s incredible...”

The human smiled lightly and nodded. Then he frowned and opened his eyes seriously. “And it’s why I  _need_  to bring Vitrum back to the way it was,” he got to his feet, his head bowed as he stared at the bar. “When Celestia sent you here, she told you all that Virum was a beacon of hope...”

  
He turned and affixed the two ponies with his confident gaze. “But it is also so much  _more_  than that! Vitrum... it’s not a beacon, it’s... it’s a _fact!_  For as long as Concordia has existed, Vitrum has been a fact, an immutable truth! It was one known to all existence, one that all acknowledged. Vitrum...”

 He sighed wistfully. “It  _spoke_  to people. It spoke differently to all,” he spread his arms wide. “To the weak and poor and needy, it said ‘Come to me! Come and see what I have to offer! I will give you peace, and I will give you prosperity’,” he then tilted his head back and rested his hand directly below his chin. “To our enemies, it said ‘This far! This far and no more! Never again!’”

His smile became truly ecstatic, his eyes gleaming with memories. “And to the intellectuals... it said ‘Come and see! I hold so many secret! So many mysteries! So many have tried to unravel them, but there is always more! Find your place, and engrave yourself in the annals of history!’”

Scholar was truly lost in his memories, runes wafting about him as he stared millennia into the past. “Vitrum... it was not simply the  _capital_ of Concordia, it  _was_  Concordia! So long as it stood, Concordia stood! So long as it existed, we could sleep easily, knowing that tomorrow was secure!”

Slowly, his mood began to sour, his robes turning dark as he bowed his head anew. “And when it fell... Concordia fell. All hope was lost, and all who were left didn’t fight to win, they fought to simply hurt in any way possible, no matter the cost.”

He looked up and met the mares gaze, flooring them with the determination in his eyes. “And that’s how I plan to fight as well. No matter the cost, I will free Vitrum. And in the process, I will take the first step to freeing Concordia, and my friends. Tell it to whoever you will, but know it as a fact: I will not be deterred. Not now, or ever.” 

For several minutes, silence reigned in the tent as the two species stared at each other. Until finally...

“HEY, TWILIGHT! WAIT UP!”

Scholar, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie whipped their heads towards the mouth of the tent. 

“That sounded like Spike...” Pinkie Pie muttered.

“Hmmm...” Scholar hummed in curiosity. “Sounds like something is going down.” Before either mare could react, he dashed out off the tent, nearly barreling over Crystal Carafe as he reentered.

The emerald unicorn stared after him in shock before turning and scowling at Fluttershy and Pinkie. “Please tell me you two didn’t run him off, he was a good customer!”

Fluttershy squeaked a bit and hid behind her mane. “Oh my no! I would never do anything like that! He left on his own!”

Carafe stared at her for a second before sighing and shaking his head. “Ah well... too bad, he could really hold his liquor...” His grin returned full force as he trotted towards the bar, pulling out and displaying a bottle of clear liquid he was carrying with his magic. “At least you’re still here! Here’s the Balkan 176!” He hopped over the bar and whipped two crystal glasses full of ice onto the bar in front of Pinkie and Fluttershy. “Still sure you want it?”

Fluttershy nodded resolutely, not turning as she reached out with her wing and stopped Pinkie from moving. “We’re sure. Go ahead and pour it.” 

Carafe gave Pinkie a hesitant look before shrugging and nodding. “So be it. It’s on  your head.” And with that, he filled the two glasses to the brim. 

Pinkie leaned down and eyed the water-like liquid warily. 

Fluttershy gained her attention by tapping her on the shoulder. “Best to drink it all at once, like medicine.” 

“Umm... okay...” 

As one, the two mares picked up the glasses in their hooves. 

“Now then,” Fluttershy said with a smile. “On three. One... two... three!” The friends knocked back the glasses together, swallowing the alcoholic beverage. 

Pinkie sat stock still for a moment... before blinking in surprise. “Huh, that’s weird...” She mused. “I thought that would do... I don’t know, something.”

Fluttershy, on the other hand, had her eyes closed in concentration. “Three... two... one... and...”

POOF!

Pinkie’s mane burst into a frizzy mess, her eyes nearly popping out of her sockets. Her entire body stood ramrod straight in reaction to the alcohol hitting her system.

Fluttershy merely let a shiver run the length of her body. “Ahhh...” She sighed contentedly. “How nice, kind of like taking a hammer to the frontal lobe, huh?”

Pinkie didn’t respond, simply leaning backwards until she collapsed on the ground.

Crystal Carafe leaned over his bar and stared worriedly at the mare’s prone form. “Is she alright?”

“Oh, I’m sure she’s fine.”

Pinkie’s legs all shot up towards the ceiling, a sound not unlike a cash register ringing out.

“See?”

“I think she might need a medic... And a kidney transplant.”

“Maybe later. For now, I’ve got a feeling that things are about to get really complicated, so I want to be nice and ready. As they say in Las Pegasus, hit me!”


	13. Turnabout Triumph

“TWILIGHT! WAIT UP!” Spike panted as he chased after his big sister figure.  _‘Geeze, what’s gotten into her!? One second I’m helping Rarity at her booth, the next she tears by like a bat out of-! Ergh, I’ve_ got _to think of a better word for that.’_

Finally, to Spike’s relief, Twilight slowed down, going from a gallop to a trot to a stop.

Spike panted as he bent over, leaning on his knees as he gasped for air. “Thanks... so... what’s wrong?”

The unicorn turned her head and Spike flinched. Twilight’s eyes were all but dripping tears but she had that fake, nearly insane smile on her face that she usually only had when Princess Celestia was about to make a visit. It always precluded a full day of twitchiness and hair-trigger reshelving.

The canned laugh she made as if trying to be casual was equally saddening, and disturbing as Spike prodded, “Twilight?”

“Oh, it’s nothing Spike! Absolutely nothing! Cadance just played a prank on my and I took it the wrong way! Hehaha, don’t worry about a thing, everything is going to be just fine!” Spike winced at how hollow those last few words were. Something was  _seriously_ wrong and he wasn’t about to let Twilight bottle it up.

“Twilight, it’s me, your Number One Assistant! You know I’m always going to be here for you!” Walking up to her, Spike gave her leg a fierce hug, “Come on Twi, you’ve always helped me with my problems. So what’s so bad that you don’t want to let me help?”

Twilight choked a sob, visibly shuddering as the tried to calm herself, “I...okay, if...if you really want to know, but not here, let’s go somewhere less public.” Turning, the unicorn started to lead the baby dragon out of the main festivities.

Privacy was found in a food tent off the main thoroughfare, largely empty so the pair could find a table away from the prying eyes and ears of the public. Holding a drink, Spike watched Twilight as she cradled a crystal apple, “To hear the Crystal Ponies tell it, those things explode unless you pull out the stem and soak it for a few days.”

Twilight nodded as she took a bite, before she giggled weakly, “Don’t tell Applejack, but this is nearly as good as her apples.” She giggled again and Spike joined her.

“Maybe she’ll bring some back?” He said, tentatively trying to break the ice before his expression became serious, “Okay Twilight, we’re somewhere private. Spill.”

Twilight was silent for a second staring at him before sighing despondently, “Okay, I’ll tell you. I was talking with Cadance, about the Crystal Heart. Scholar... interrupted us. He... he told us that if we found the real heart... used it... then he and Iron Will and Gilda and Trixie would... would die...”

Spike gasped in shock. “T-that’s horrible!”

Twilight shook her head, tears brimming at her eyes. “No... the horrible part is that Cadance knew. She knew and she was willing to let them... let... them...” She hiccuped miserably.

Spike gaped in shock. “W- _what!?_  Cadance.  _Our_ Cadance said that?! But that’s-!”

“Insane. I know,” Twilight nodded somberly. “But... the fact of the matter was... that she wasn’t actually our Cadance...”

“Uhh...” The young dragon blinked in confusion. “Run that one by me again?”

Twilight scrunched her eyes shut as she recounted what had occurred.

**-Ten Minutes Ago-**

“Cadance...” Shining Armor whispered as he rubbed her back gently. “Please... tell me... tell  _us_  what’s going on...”

“Cadance, we’re here for you,” Twilight prompted. “Let us help.”

The Alicorn princess sniffed as she wiped her hoof over her eyes, trying to do away with the tears. “I... alright...” Cadance shakily got to her hooves and walked over to the banister, staring out over Vitrum. “I... I’ve watched the Crystal Empire grow... ever since Concordia fell. If Scholar reclaims it... if Scholar gets back into power... then everything that I’ve worked for... the peace that me and Celestia and Luna have worked for... it will be gone.”

“But Cadance,” Twilight protested, placing her hoof on her sister-in-law’s shoulder. “Why would it mean the end!? Why can’t there just be peace, and happiness like always!?”

Cadance bowed her head sadly. “Think about it, Twilight. When we sealed Concordia, dozens of species were imprisoned. And, well...” Cadance groaned as she kneaded her forehead with her hooves. “There’s... there’s just no way to say this without sounding horrible. Ugh, the entire  _situation_  is horrible! I know, I’ve been running over it every day for the past millennia...

“But the fact is that there isn’t a way out. If we unseal Concordia, they will  _never_  forgive us. They’ll bring the wrath of the greatest empire to ever exist down on us for our mistake. And Equestria... my god, you can’t even imagine... Twilight, I know you’re smart, so here’s a small economics question: what happens when you introduce several dozen species, all with their own cultures and needs to the global socio-political stage?”

Shining Armor swallowed heavily as Twilight paled, her pupils dilating and ears flattening. “Sis, what’s wrong?”

The lavender unicorn swallowed heavily. “C-complete global economic collapse...”

Her brother’s jaw dropped in shock. “W-what!?”

Cadance nodded sadly. “It’s true. All those different economies, all those individuals and their needs... the world isn’t prepared to deal with them. And where will they live? Even if we set up cities like Cloudsdale and such, there simply isn’t enough land for them all. They  _need_  to stay sealed. At the least, this way they’re still alive.”

“But... Cadance...” Shining Armor pleaded. “How can you just, just  _condemn_  Scholar and his followers!? How can you sentence them to death so casually!?”

Cadance sighed, turning her head away from him. “Because that’s what we had to do back then. Concordia was generally peaceful, yes, but it was a nigh-unending battle to keep it such. Sure, there were physical wars, but underneath them were the political chess games that we had no choice but to play. Politicians, aristocrats, military officers, whether it was because they were ambitious, greedy, or just truly believed their cause was just, they faced us in unspoken wars. We the Oligarchs might have been at the top of government, but we were never able to avoid battling them. And in those battles, we made choices. Necessary choices. Terrible,  _terrible_ choices, but necessary. The needs of the many or the needs of the few? The most basic choice of all.”

“But you...” Twilight swallowed heavily. “You sounded so... so cold.”

The pink Alicorn’s mood soured further as she growled. “The Dark Love. A mask I used in the political arena. I used it to act calm no  matter what I had to do. I got the name because of how there were no limits to what I was willing to do for those I cared for. It’s the only way I was able to handle doing what we did to Concordia. Once it was all over and done with, I  _buried_  it, I didn’t want to deal with it ever again. I left Canterlot because I just... just couldn’t _deal_  with what we did, and staying with Celestia and Luna reminded me of it. I secluded myself, and when Sombra did what he did, I wandered.”

She turned her head and gave Shining Armor a heart-warming smile. “Then I met you, Shiny. I was ready to just, settle down, put the past behind me...” Her smile died suddenly. “But dealing with Scholar has been chipping away at my nerves. She just... just keeps coming back out. So long as there is any reminder of Concordia remaining, I fear it will never be gone. That’s why I  _have_ to do this. And if I am going to do it...” She looked at Twilight. “Then I’m going to need your help, Twilight.”

Twilight flinched in shock. “W- _what!?_  Why-?”

“Because...” Cadance lamented. “You’re the only one who can. I’m too busy concentrating on keeping up the shields, and Shiny-”

“Is too weak to do anything...” The Captain of the Guard stated sadly.

“Shiny, no!” Cadance protested, whipping around hastily. “Shining Armor, I promise, you  _are_  strong, and you aren’t useless. Both you and Twilight are two of the strongest unicorns I’ve seen in centuries. You could even give some of the people back in Concordia a run for their money.

“But the fact remains... for the past few weeks, you haven’t been dealing with Concordians, or even disciples from the Academia. You’ve been dealing with  _Oligarchs._  We kept ourselves on a whole different level. People like Scholar and...” She shivered violently. _“Chrysalis..._  you simply don’t have the experience, the power... none of it. You can’t begin to compare.

“But you  _can_  be useful. Scholar might be incapacitated, but that minotaur of his, Iron Will... who  _knows_ what he might do. I need you here with me.” She laid her hoof on Shining Armor’s shoulder. “Please Shiny... I can’t do this without you,” She looked at Twilight mournfully. “ _Both_ of you.”

The siblings glanced at each other for a second, before nodding resolutely, all doubts banished from their minds.

Cadance grinned sadly. “Thank you... the both of you. Twilight, I’m sorry to ask you this,  _so_  sorry,  but at this point, we’re out of options. Here’s what I need you to do...”

**-Present-**

Spike gaped openly at her. “She wants you to find the Crystal Heart!?”

Twilight nodded somberly. “Uh-huh. Shining Armor doesn’t have his magic, Cadance needs to keep the shields up, and the others are keeping the fair running. T-there’s no one else. If I get the Heart, Equestria will be safe, the Crystal Empire will be free, and...” She swallowed heavily. “I... I’ll pass Celestia’s test...”

Spike snarled furiously, slamming his fist on the table. “ _Forget_ the damn test, Twilight! This isn’t about Celestia! It’s about you! It’s about what  _you_  think you have to do!”

“That’s where you’re  _wrong_  Spike!” Twilight rebutted. “This has  _everything_  to do with Celestia!”

The dragon threw his arms wide in frustration. “How!? How does this have anything to do with her!?”

_“Because all my life she’s all I’ve ever had!”_  Twilight screamed miserably.

Spike blinked in shock. “Wha...?”

Twilight sobbed as she buried her head in her forelegs. “All my life...” She ground out. “All my life, I’ve looked up to Princess Celestia. All of my life I’ve heard her preach peace and harmony and friendship... and now what? It’s all a lie? Sure, I have I have you and my parents and my friends... but all my life, Celestia has been my whole world... Now... without her... with everything a lie... what am I supposed to do?”

Spike stared at her solemnly before standing up, walking around to her, and clasping her hoof. “Twilight, listen to me. No matter what, no matter what happens, or what anyone says or anyone thinks... I’m  _more_  than your number one assistant. I’m your  _family._  If you need something to cling to,  _anything_  to cling to, then cling to me.I love you Twilight, and that will  _never_  change. I promise.”

Twilight stared at him in shock for a second before smiling sadly, tears streaming down her cheeks as she enveloped him in a hug. “Thank you, Spike. Thank you so much...”

Spike returned the hug eagerly. “Not a problem, Twi,” he pulled back, gazing at her worriedly. “So... what are you going to do now?”

Twilight, bit her lip hesitantly, darting her eyes around before furrowing her brow, a blazing determination entering her eyes. “I’m going to find the Crystal Heart. But I’m not doing it for Celestia, or for Luna, or even Cadance. I’m doing this for my friends. I’m doing this for Equestria and all the ponies who live in it. This falls on me, and me alone.”

Spike gave her a hesitant look before voiding his face of emotion and nodding resolutely. “I’m with you, Twilight,” He scrambled onto her back, giving her a reassuring smile. “All the way. Heck,” he tucked his hands beneath his armpits. “I won’t even lift a claw to help.”

Twilight smiled gratefully before frowning and turning to glare at a darkened corner of the food tent. “So,” she stated darkly. “Anything you want to add, Scholar?”

Spike gasped in shock as the Rune Keeper stepped out of the shadows. He stared at her morosely, his expression unreadable beneath his hood. “I’ve heard that tone a thousand times before,” he stated solemnly. “Is there anythingI  _could_  say to stop you?”

Twilight shook her head without hesitation. “Not a chance. I’m sorry.”

Scholar shrugged. “Then that’s all there is to it.”

Twilight nodded in acceptance before turning and galloping towards the palace. As she ran off, Spike spared Scholar a single, final glance.

Scholar stared after them before bowing his head and turning away. “Semel iterum, alea jacta est,” he muttered. “Rursus et rursus, alea jacta est.”

**-o-**

Gilda gasped for breath, her chest heaving as she knelt on the ground. She’d long ago emptied her stomach.

_‘This is ridiculous...’_ She mentally groaned, dragging her head up to stare at the wooden construct that seemed to tower over her, almost mocking in how it was unchanged.  _‘How the hell am I being bested by a_ door!? _Admittedly, a very sadistic door, but it’s the thought that counts...’_

The griffon groaned as she clawed her way up the door. “Alright,” She snarled through her teeth. “Let’s go, you damn dirty door. Round Thirty-eight.”

She grasped the doorknob in her claw...

...but instantly let it go when a black crystal came within inches of braining her.

_‘Shit!’_  She mentally screamed as voices began to echo down the stairwell.  _‘I’m out of time!’_  She jabbed her talon at the door. “I’m not done with you yet,” she whispered venomously before flapping her wings and zipping to hide beneath the winding staircase.

Not a moment too soon, either. It was mere moments later that Princess Celestia’s protege came tumbling down the stairs.

As tired as she was, Gilda was barely able to keep herself from laughing as the unicorn chased the door around the stairwell. Her amusement cut off when Twilight snarled furiously and blasted the door with black magic.  _‘Damn, she’s stronger than I thought...’_  Gilda mused.

Twilight smiled euphorically as she trotted towards the bright light emanating from the doorway. “Spike!” She called out. “I think it’s here!”

_‘Yeah,’_ the would-be Stormknight snorted to herself.  _‘But fat chance getting to it. And in three, two, one...’_

As predicted, the unicorn froze in her tracks and fell on her rear, staring at the stone wall as her eyes were flooded with dark magic.

“And presto, like clockwork,” Gilda muttered as she let go of the stairs and landed behind the pony. She stared at the terrified equine, savoring her horrified expression before grinning sadistically. “No princess to save you now, bitch...” the griffon chuckled darkly as she slowly lifted her talons.

But before she could strike, a new voice rang out, frantically calling down the stairs. “Twilight! Twilight!”

Gilda growled in annoyance and darted back into the shadows, out of sight.

She watched angrily as the juvenile dragon darted down the stairs. To her shock and envy, the dragon’s voice appeared to snap Twilight out of her trance, dispelling the magic.

Spike panted as he reached the bottom of the stairs. “I know you told me to stay up there,” he rambled quickly as Twilight tried to regain her bearings, “But you were down here for such a long time and you weren't answering and I got worried so I came down here and you were just staring at that wall and... I was calling your name, but I couldn't seem to get your attention, and–” He cut off as he glanced at where she’d been staring. “What were you looking at? I mean...” He glanced into the doorway, unknowingly setting off the enchantment hidden within. “It’s just a wall...”

Gilda winced in sympathy as the drake’s eyes were filled with magic. Enemies they might be, but that door was one fate she would wish on very few.

Spike blinked in confusion as Twilight looked on worriedly. “...Ponyville?!” He mumbled in confusion, his expression slowly morphing into one of panic. “Well, how did I get... No! I don't wanna go! Please, Twilight, don't make me!”

The unicorn hurriedly slammed the door shut as the dragon was about to burst into hysterics.

“King Sombra’s dark magic,” Twilight stated solemnly. “A doorway that leads to your worst fear.”

_‘And you only saw the tip of the iceberg, Sparkle-butt,’_  Gilda thought sourly.

“We were home,” Spike whimpered sadly. “You told me you didn't need me anymore. You were sending me away...”

“A fear that will never come to pass,” Twilight reassured as she pulled the dragon into a hug “I'm never gonna send you away...” Her face filled with newfound confidence as her horn lit up with magic. “And I'm not gonna fail my test!” And with that statement, she fired a stream of pure energy into the door’s crystal.

Gilda stared in shock as rainbow lights flooded the room. She was floored by a wash of emotions as the door swung open properly. Rage, confusion... and most importantly, shame.  _‘Light magic...’_  She thought numbly.  _‘All it took was light magic... and instead I just kept ramming my head into that damn door...’_  

When she finally regained her wits, the door had slammed shut behind the triumphant duo. Snarling predatorily, she blasted a bolt of lightning at the crystal, darted to the door, kicked it inwards...

And promptly pulled the door shut again, slamming her back against the wood as several black crystal spears protruded from the portal, nearly skewering her alive.

“Oh yeah,” Gilda muttered to herself through her shellshock. “Sombra was one of the  _smart_  ponies. Makes sense he would make sure anybody following him wouldn’t get far...”

Gilda peeled herself off the wood and clasped her talons together nervously. “Alright Gilda, let’s think, what the hell  _DO I DO!?!”_  She screamed as panic overtook her senses, the stairwell flooding with lightning as she was reduced to a nigh hysterical mess.

**-o-**

Iron Will growled under his breath as he stared out the castle’s window.

Vitrum was reaching critical levels of unrest. Before his eyes, building after building was encroached upon by dark magic, the horizon flickered like a dying torch, and the crystal ponies were second away from panicking, despite the best efforts of the Elements.

The minotaur snorted furiously as he turned away stomping along the castle’s corridors as he searched for his destination. He knew that sooner or later, something was going to give, and when it did, he was going to be ready.

“Come on...” Iron Will muttered under his breath. “Hurry up...”

**-o-**

Twilight grinned enthusiastically as she approached the dais. There, floating above her, was the Crystal Heart.

_‘Yes...’_  She thought joyously.  _‘So close... I’m so close...’_

She set a hoof on the dais.

And then all hell broke loose.

**WOOP! WOOP!**

Twilight flinched in shock as the floor was covered in shadows. Acting fast, Twilight jumped for the Crystal Heart, but before she could reach it, jagged spires of obsidian thrust out of the ground, cracking it as they emerged, and engulfing the tower in shadows.

Twilight stared in horror as the Crystal Heart clattered to the ground outside of the crystalline barrier, Sombra’s evil laugh echoing around her.

**-o-**

Scholar was moving around in the faire when he came to a sudden halt. Slowly, he turned around and stared up at the tallest tower of the Crystal Empire.

“There you are...” He breathed.

**-o-**

Trixie’s eyes snapped open as she scrambled to her hooves, her head orienting itself in the direction she knew the castle, and more importantly the Heart, was.

“No!” Trixie gasped in horror. She quickly flung the apartment door open and galloped out. “This is not where it ends!”

**-o-**

Iron Will slid to a sudden halt, craning his head head back to stare at the ceiling.

“The Heart!” He growled. Iron Will snorted furiously before taking off again at a breakneck pace.

“Hurry...” He pleaded under his breath. “Hurry damn it!”

**-o-**

Gilda froze, all of her magic cutting off as she came back to her wits. With speeds only available to a predator, she snapped her eyes up and out of the hole she was in.

“It was in the tower!” She snarled to herself. “Damn it, another subliminal barrier! Need to get there, I won’t lose,” Gilda clenched her beak in abject fury as she flared her wings, black lightning engulfing her being. “DO YOU HEAR ME!?” She screeched to the heavens as she flapped her wings, taking off and circling around and round up the stairs so as to avoid the wards still in the shaft proper.

**“WE WON’T LOSE!”**

**-o-**

Twilight panted worriedly as she looked around. “The Heart! Where’s the Crystal-!”

“Here!”

Twilight snapped her head towards Spike’s voice as it circumvented the barrier.

“It rolled over here when you dropped it!” The drake called out as he kept on his toes, doing whatever he could to keep from touching the evil crystals that were sprouting from the ground.

Twilight caught sight of him through a crack in the walls. “Don’t move!”

Spike swallowed heavily as more obsidian daggers erupted near his feet. “That’s not really an option, Twilight!”

“You can move!” She amended, “Just not towards me!”

Spike staggered back from the crystals, putting himself right next to the Heart.

There was a flash of lavender light as Twilight teleported out of her confines, followed by a burst of black lightning returning her to her prison and slamming her into the walls. Twilight groaned as she rubbed her throbbing horn. “How could I have been so  _foolish!?”_  She lamented as she shoved her hooves against the wall. “I was just so eager to get it! It was like there was a voice egging me on! And when I saw what was going on outside... to everyone...”

“You have to get out of there, Twilight!” Spike shouted desperately. “How else are we going to get out of here!?”

Twilight whimpered as she looked out through a hole in her cell and watched as dark shadows swallowed building after building. “King Sombra is already attacking the Empire. He could reach the Crystal Ponies at any moment... reach Princess Cadance, my brother, my friends. There may not be enough time for me to find a way to escape!”

Twilight darted her eyes left in right as she thought furiously. “But I  _have_ to be the one to get the Heart to Cadance! It’s my responsibility!” She redoubled her efforts at pushing at the walls, flinching as Scholar, Gilda, Trixie and Iron WIll materialized in her mind’s eye. “It’s my burden...”

Spike bit his lip as he danced around the black spikes. Suddenly, his gaze fell on the Crystal Heart, lying helpless on the floor.

It only took him an instant to reach a decision.

“That’s where you’re wrong, Twilight,” he called out.

“Spike?”

“It’s not your burden anymore.”

“What are you-” The unicorn gasped in shock as she caught sight of her number one assistant.

Spike was standing on the edge of the tower, the Heart clutched tightly in his claws. “It’s mine.”

“Spike, no! You can’t do this! I-!” Twilight lit her horn up as she tried to grab him. “I won’t let you be responsible for this!”

“The feeling is mutual!” He shouted as he jumped just out of her range.

“SPIKE!” Twilight screamed. That was all she was able to say before the entire tower was engulfed in a forest of obsidian.

**-o-**

Cadance gasped in pain as the last of her magic left her, sputtering out pathetically. She was forced to watch in horror as the blue horizon she had set up collapsed, giving way to a nightmarish burnt orange.

Suddenly, she shuddered in fear as a dark, booming voice echoed across Vitrum.

**“My crystal slavesss...”**

_‘Bastard...’_  Cadance thought through the pain.  _‘If only... I had a bit more power... I will never... let you touch... my ponies...’_

She grit her teeth as a booming laugh reverberated throughout the land.

_‘Never... again...’_

**-o-**

Spike grunted as he clambered down the crystal parapets, instinctively shooting off bursts of green fire at emerging obsidian as he went.

“Once... this... is over...” He grunted to himself, barely dodging a fate as a draconic shishkebab. “I’m getting a raise! Or, at the least, a salary! Dental! EEP!” He swallowed heavily as he nearly fell backwards off an edge. “Health insurance...”

Chancing a glance downwards, Spike was thankfully rewarded with the sight of multiple ponies standing around on a balcony. “HEY!” He cried. He waved the Crystal Heart about giddily. “I have the Crystal Heart right here!”

Suddenly, an infuriated roar shook the area.

**“THAT IS MINE!”**

Spike swallowed heavily as he began to dash down the winding crystal growth. “Not to self, don’t gloat until  _after_  the villain is go-WARGH!”

He was driven out of his thoughts when a new set of shaking sent him completely off his feet and over the edge. To the dragon’s immense horror, the Crystal Heart flew out of his grasp during the commotion, plummeting directly below him.

Spike paled in fear as he caught sight of where he was heading. Growing from the ground was a spire of black crystal, and standing proud upon the very top of the spire was Sombra, leering victoriously, as the Crystal Heart fell ever closer to his clutches, his fangs bared in a twisted grin of victory.

_‘Nononono!’_ Spike thought numbly as he grasped for the artifact. _‘It can’t end like this, it can’t!’_

Suddenly, everything seemed to slow down, seconds elongating to eternities. Spike’s heartbeat pounded in his ears.

Spike became aware of a crucial fact that had suddenly introduced itself: Princess Cadance, flying faster than Spike thought possible, mere inches away from the Heart, positioned to catch both it and him. Her grin was euphoric, filled with glee and hope and victory.

Spike could only stare as joy blossomed within his chest.  _‘We won...’_

Then, out of nowhere, everything changed.

[ **“OBJECTION!”** ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8QRExBfQhs)

A black crystal shot from the direction of the ground, impacting with the Crystal Heart and sending the Crystal Heart flying high into the sky.

Cadance was forced to come to a dead stop, flapping her wings furiously as she tried to stay aloft when Spike impacted with her back.

The Alicorn stared in horror as her only hope was flung away. “How...” She breathed. Cadance snapped her head towards the ground, scanning the ground until she found...

The princess’s breath hitched violently. “No...”

**-o-**

Scholar smirked as he met Cadance’s fearful eyes. “My turn, bitch.”

His crystal-encased arm was pointed towards the sky, and it had changed drastically. Instead of a simple pillar, the crystals formed a cannon, runes running up and down the entire length and smoke flowing freely out of the barrel.

“This, right here, right now, is our turnabout triumph.”

**-o-**

Cadance’s breathing became ragged as her magical exhaustion took ahold of her once anew. “We’ve been had....” She panted.

Spike glanced at her in confusion. “What do you mean!?”

_“We’ll tell you what it means!”_

The two snapped their attention back towards the maliciously grinning Sombra.

Or at least, the being that  _appeared_  to be Sombra.

CRACK!

All of a sudden, the dark unicorn shattered like glass, cracks spider-webbing across his entire being, before exploding in a shower of light and fragments.

And what was left behind...

“We played you all for chumps!!” Nix and Null chorused gleefully.

_“You...”_  Cadance seethed.

“Us!” Nix squealed.

“THEM!” Spike yelped.

“Hi!” Null waved.

It was the Golem Twins, blatantly floating before Cadance and Spike in all their unmasked glory. Nix was holding open the Lexicon De Arcana, and Null was grasping a huge black-and-red crystal war horn.

“Hello Cadance!” Nix greeted as she snapped her hand out and snatched Spike off Cadance’s back by the nape of his neck.

“And  _goodbye_  Cadance!” Null gloated. He feigned drawing a huge breath, brought the horn to where his lips would be, and pretended to blow.

**BUUUUUWOOOOOOH!**

Cadance was blasted by a veritable barrage of sound and magic, sending her flying back to the balcony from which she’d been flung.

“CADANCE!” Spike shouted in panic.

“Don’t worry!” Nix reassured.

“She’s tough, she’ll live!” Her brother reassured.

“But why didn’t you just blast  _me?”_  Spike demanded.

The twins glanced at each other before shrugging.

“You’re a dragon, not a pony!”

“In our opinion, you’re neutral!”

“Oh,” Spike blinked in shock. “Okay then... still, they’re my friends, I want to be with them. Can you get me down there?”

“Oh... sorry...”

“If that’s what you want.”

“Thanks you- wait, what are you-!?  _Don’t kick the dragon! DON’T KICK THE GODDAMN-!”_

“FORE!”

SLAM!

_“YEAAAAAAAARGH!”_

“Oooh, nice topspin!”

“Myeah. Hey Nix.”

“Yeah Null?”

“Do you think that joke will ever get old?”

“Mmmm... naaaaah!”

**-o-**

Rainbow scowled as she watched the Crystal Heart reach the apex of it’s arc. “Those damn  _traitors!”_  She snarled as she flared her wings.

“O-oh dear!” Fluttershy stuttered as she hid behind her mane, silently cursing the fact that she was stone-cold sober. “R-rainbow Dash, what are you-?”

“I’m getting that Heart!”

“WAIT!” Shining Armor shouted. “Cadance! Get Cadance!”

The pegasus widened her eyes before flapping her wings and intercepting the Alicorn before she could impact the walls. She wheeled around and handed the unconscious mare to her husband.

Meanwhile, Rarity managed to just catch Spike with her magic.

The dragon sighed in relief. “Thanks, Rarity.”

“Not a problem, Spikey-Wikey!”

Spike gave her a grin before scowling at Shining Armor. “Hey, what am I, chopped daisies!?”

Shining Armor ignored him, cradled his wife’s head desperately. “Cadance, Cadance, open your eyes, please!”

Cadance cracked an eyelid open staring at him listlessly for a second before her eyelids widened even further. “Shiny...”

Shining Armor chuckled in relief. “Cadance, thank Celestia! Don’t speak...”

“Shiny...” She groaned. “Behind you...”

A sudden dark chuckling caused the ponies to whip their heads towards the balconies entrance.

Iron Will towered above them, his lips set in a triumphant smirk. “Iron Will found the armory,” he said darkly. “And look at what he got.”

The minotaur swung his arm around, displaying a huge bronze war club, almost seven feet long, two feet thick, and octagonal in shape. It’s entire length was studded with iron studs.

“The impressive thing,” Iron Will continued. “About this piece is that it’s made to support earth magic,” his grin became sadistic. “Let’s test it out, shall we?”

Before any of the ponies could react, Iron Will slammed his club into the floor. An explosive crash racked the balcony, cracks spider-webbing across the entire thing.

Fluttershy shivered violently as she met Iron Will’s eyes. “Please...” She whimpered.

Iron Will’s only response was to give her a final salute before slamming his hoof into the emaciated balcony.

CRASH!

The entire thing fell, sending the ponies tumbling towards the ground.

Luckily, Fluttershy regained her wits and was able to help Rainbow Dash lower all her friends to the ground, along with several crystal pegasi that took the initiative and helped them.

Shining Armor panted as he clutched his wife tightly. “Everybody alright?”

The Elements all gave groans of acknowledgement.

“I have an idea...” Spike mumbled. “Let’s  _not_  do that again...”

SLAM!

The ponies snapped around as Iron Will slammed into the ground, cracking the crystal beneath him. “That’s unfortunate,” he rumbled. “It would have been so much easier if someone had at least broken their legs.”

Applejack bared her teeth as she took a steady stance. “Dash, get a move on and get the Heart, Ah’ll hold this varmint off!”

Rainbow Dash nodded, crouched for take-off...

And yelped as she whipped her hooves to her eyes. “GAGH!? WHAT THE TARTARUS!?”

“That would be  _our_  doing!”

Rarity groaned. “Oh dear, I suppose this was to be expected...”

“Indeed!” There was a large explosion of fireworks and light as a pony stood on her hind-legs, her forehooves spread wide. “For what is an absolute victory without THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE!?”

“ _Buck_  your ‘Great and Powerful!’” Rainbow Dash snarled, rubbing furiously at her eyes. “What did you do to me!?”

Trixie sighed as she fell back on her hooves. “Philistine. The Luminescent and Prodigious Trixie merely used her illusions to hamper your sense of sight. The untrained mind often has a hard time coping with viewing non-euclidean shapes, so it can be a tad disconcerting.”

“After all,” the crowd of Crystal Ponies parted, letting Scholar walk through, his crystal arm slung around his neck. “We can’t have you interfering with our last operative.”

“Traitor!” Shining Armor yelled, making to gallop at the human.

He was halted by a massive blade appearing directly beneath his chin. “Sit your five-bit ass down,” Null growled, “Before I make change.”

Shining Armor bored holes through him before reluctantly acquiescing.

“Good pony!” Nix cooed as she petted his mane condescendingly.

“So,” Applejack demanded as she eyed the golems warily, “Who’s this ‘last operative’ of yers?”

All of a sudden, there was an explosion as a streak of black lightning erupted from the castle, shooting through the sky towards where the Crystal Heart was falling.

“I retract the question,” Applejack muttered bitterly.

Scholar smirked and held up three fingers, counting down. “Three, two, one...”

**“SCREEEEEE!”**

An ear-shattering screech sounded out, sweeping across Vitrum.

Scholar smirked triumphantly as the black lightning started on it’s way back.

The rest of his comrades made their ways towards him, standing at his side.

Once the streak returned, the lightning dispersed, revealing Gilda’s smirking form hovering above her superior, the Crystal Heart clutched in her talons. She then proceeded to drop it before falling to the ground.

Scholar snapped his crystal-encased arm up, pointing it straight towards the Heart. There was a flash of light and runes and then the crystals shifted and moved, flowing up and off of Scholar’s arm until they encapsulated the Heart, locking it in a cage of crystals and runes.

Scholar’s smirk became truly triumphant, as he moved the cage in front of his body, staring predatorily at the heart.

“Checkmate.”


	14. From Renaissance...

For the longest time, time stood still.

Scholar and his entourage glared at the Equestrians, victory and pride present in their eyes.

The Equestrians stared at the Academics, dread, fear and confusion in theirs.

The Crystal Ponies formed a ring around them, waiting with baited breath for something to happen.

Finally, Scholar crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. “Nothing?  _Really?_  Come on, I spent the past week setting that line up.”

Shining Armor gaped at him in shock, shaking his head in denial. “I-  _how!?”_  

Cadance, though tired and drained of energy, managed to give her husband a sad glance. “Shiny...”

“Just- how the hell did you  _do_ all of this!? How is-!?” He was cut off by a raised wing.

“Shiny...” Cadance repeated more forcefully. “Enough... It’s already done... all he’s going to do...”

“Is gloat?” Scholar asked innocently. “An  _excellent_ idea! I do love a good bit of exposition anyways! But first!” He popped a finger up. “We should go and get dear Twilight! I do  _loathe_  repeating things. Gilda would you-?”

Gilda smirked eagerly, crouching as she spread her wings before taking off in a bolt of black lightning. There was a huge crash of breaking glass followed by the black lightning returning.

The lightning dissipated, revealing the griffon to be clutching the struggling purple unicorn in her talons. Twilight was trying desperately to get out of Gilda’s grip but the black-clad talon wrapped around her horn was somehow disrupting her magic.

“G- _grah!”_  She growled, purple lightning dancing around her horn. “Let me  _gugh!_  GO!”

“You asked for it!” Gilda smirked. She heaved her arms back and tossed Twilight through the air like a sack of flour.

Twilight flailed her hooves frantically as she sailed through the air. Remembering her magic, her horn lit up...

And was promptly extinguished when a green stone hand caught hold of it.

Twilight tried to struggle again, but promptly froze when a red blade pressed itself against her throat.

“Hiya, main course!” Null chuckled grimly.

“Say, settle an argument for us, wouldja?” Nix asked innocently.

“What would be better as your topping? Ketchup?”

“Or salsa?”

Twilight groaned as she clenched her eyes shut. “For the record, I actually felt  _sorry_  for you little trolls when I heard that you were supposedly dead.”

“Awww, how sweet!”

“Just for that, we’ll make sure you’re unconscious when we run you through!”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “How generous.”

“We know!”

“From us, that’s downright charitable!”

“So!” Scholar clapped his hands together. “Now that we’re all together, any questions for us,  _your highness?”_ He asked Cadance, his voice dripping with false sweetness.

The Alicorn stared at him quietly for a second before sighing and nodding her head. “Yes. Just how long has Sombra been dead? At a guess, I’d say since you got here, am I right?”

The human tilted his head smirking imperiously. “Not even close. By my estimates, dark and gruesome kicked the bucket about...” He held up a hand and snapped his fingers in front of Iron Will.

The minotaur tilted his head in thought for a second before nodding definitively. “Four hundred and thirteen years ago.”

Scholar nodded with pride. “Ex- _actly!_ Nice work!”

The Equestrians gaped in shock. “Wha-!?” Rarity sputtered. “But how on E- _Mundus!”_  She altered hastily when six sets of eyes glared at her simultaneously. “Did he die!?”

The Rune Keeper bowed his hooded head as he chuckled grimly. “I was actually lying when I riffed on Celestia’s means of imprisonment. She did just fine. See, when she locked Sombra beneath the ice, she reduced him to nothing more than a soul. In his prison, Sombra was preserved. More than preserved, in fact. Whilst imprisoned, he was able to  _gorge_  himself on the magic from the ley lines, becoming more and more powerful every day. If he’d ever gotten out, he’d have been a  _god._  But there was one problem, one fact preventing this, wasn’t there Cadance?”

Attention shifted to the pink princess, who stared at Scholar for a second before nodding her head. “His soul wasn’t ready.”

“Indeed!” Scholar concurred enthusiastically. “See, for all his power and for all his experience, Sombra’s soul just wasn’t  _ready_  for such an expanse of time. Now, me or Chrysalis, or even you could survive that easily enough. We’re effectively immortal, so we’d just sit there and wait. But Sombra?”

He tutted sadly as he shook his head. “Powerful, yes, but  _mortal._  Which means that after an effective amount of time, his soul would have...” He raised an arm and pointed at Twilight. “Pop quiz, Sparkle. Time plus mortal soul, what’s the end result?”

The unicorn glared at him evenly. “Why?”

The human shrugged. “Skill and knowledge first and foremost, I’m curious about what you know.” He met her gaze coolly. “If you need any incentive, remember that the golem holding the blade to your throat is  _very_  loyal to me.”

Twilight paled drastically as her mind began running a mile a minute. She darted her eyes back and forth before swallowing heavily. “That much time... his soul... dissolved?”

Scholar tilted his head at her before sighing and shaking his head. “Not quite...”

Twilight looked like she might have a heart attack, whimpering in fear as Nix and Null chuckled malevolently.

“But!” Scholar interrupted. “Close.  _Very_  close. An understandable mistake too. See, under normal circumstances, you'd be right. An unprotected and unprepared soul left alone? Some take days, others months, years, even centuries, but they all fade, dissipating into pure magic and returning to the world. “

“But Sombra!” He stuck his finger up to emphasize his point. “Sombra was different. Sombra was imprisoned in a one-way magic funnel. So when he faded, he became a pocket of his evil, tainted magic. And all those ley lines with all that magic? They just kept feeding and feeding that magic, making the pocket grow and grow. And as it grew, the magic interacted with the ice, changing it. Transmuting it.”

“I-Into what?” Fluttershy asked.

Gilda chuckled as she held her gauntlet-clad talon up. “Into this. These crystals aren’t just a fashion statement. They’re pure,  _undiluted_  black magic. Carved straight from Sombra’s long dead and bloated fractal corpse.”

Iron Will grunted in agreement. “Which we found within hours of our arrival.”

**-o-**

  _Scholar! Scholar, respond! We’ve found something!”_

_“Yeah?” Scholar muttered. “What a coincidence. So have we.”_

_He, Iron Will and the Twins were in an ice cave, staring at what they’d discovered. They’d spent the past two hours tracking what they’d sensed and it had led them to a fissure in the ice that stretched deep underground, leading to where they were._

_The group was awestruck at what they’d found._

_Arrayed before them was a cavern. A massive gallery, composed of black crystals, stretching deep under the tundras. Occasionally, sparks of black lightning flickered between the jagged spires, dancing a mad, free-spirited dance. The crystals simply_ radiated _power. Even from where the Academics were positioned they could feel it. Magic, twisted and warped, but simply..._  awe-inspiring.

_“Holy...” Nix breathed._

_“Crap...” Null finished._

_Iron Will shook his head in awe. “This is...incredible...”_

_“Yeah? Well this is urgent!”_

**-o-**

 “Once I heard about the Crystal Heart, a plan formed in my mind.” Scholar stated. “First and foremost, I had Iron Will mine out a considerable amount of the dark crystal, and transport it into Vitrum. Once there, he used it to forge the armor that Trixie and Gilda are wearing, as well as line a base of operations with the stuff.

“Meanwhile, I stayed at the source with Nix and Null,” He held out a hand, into which the red golem eagerly dropped the large war horn he’d been handling. “And carved this. I call it the Horn of Sombra. A potent artifact, capable of altering normal  magic into dark magic, and delivering copious amounts of pain.”

Shining Armor’s eyes widened as he stared at the Golems in horror, realization hitting him like a train. “I-it was you...” He whispered. “You were the ones who attacked us! Who  _slaughtered_ my men!”

Nix giggled giddily, “Guilty!”

“Psh!” Her brother scoffed. “Guilty nothing, we were  _eager_  to kill  _something!”_

“You see,” Scholar continued. “The point of this entire thing was misdirection. The magic in the dark crystals is potent, and obscures all other magic with it’s own trace, as well as protecting us from harmony. Using the Horn, Nix and Null were able to put on the charade of being the dreaded King Sombra, striking your men down left and right, and convincing you that the usurper had returned.”

Twilight bared her teeth angrily. “And when all hope was lost, who else would come to save the day but the  _brave_  and  _courageous_ Scholar?” She asked sarcastically.

The aforementioned human took a dramatic bow. “Please, do not forget my valiant assistant Iron Will! He was a great help.”

Iron Will chuckled sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. “Awww, not a problem.”

“But either way, yes, you are correct. I staged the rescue, taking the opportunity to discretely pass the Lexicon to Nix. This served the dual purpose of allowing her to propagate the Sombra illusion across the entire tundra, and lowering how much of a threat I was in your brother and sister-in-law’s eyes. After that, it all fell into place. Trixie used the power provided by the crystals to mask her and Gilda’s presence in the city, as well as cast an extremely powerful illusion to block out any and all pre-Sombra memories the Crystal Ponies might have, whilst Gilda scoured Vitrum unmolested.”

Scholar narrowed his eyes at Twilight. “And then  _you_  came, and forced me to up the ante. I faked the blight crystals so that my threat level would lower even further, and plastered your brothers horn with  _real_ blight crystals so that he would be out of the picture as well. The way I saw it, one of two things would happen: either Gilda would find the Heart and I could dispose of you all discretely, or Nix and Null would force their way into Vitrum, ransack it and take the heart themselves. A win-win situation.”

“But me and Twilight found the heart first!” Spike exclaimed, jabbing his thumb at his chest.

Gilda clenched her talons at the reminder, bowing her head in shame.

“So what?”

The griffon whipped her head up to stare at Scholar in shock.

The human continued undeterred. “Who cares  _who_  found the Heart? The end result is that we have it. And for the record, you couldn’t have found it  _without_  Gilda’s good work.”

Gilda turned her head away timidly, a blush showing through her feathers.

Twilight blinked in confusion. “Wait. wha-?”

Scholar snorted incredulously. “Please, do you really think that a library in an empire founded by a bookworm like me would lack any defenses?  _Or_  that an accomplished mage like Sombra would leave the path to the Heart undefended? The only reason you got to the Heart was that you were following in Gilda’s footsteps, nothing more and nothing less. If you hadn’t, well... let’s just say I’m relieved you did.”

The captive unicorn stared at him in shock, trying to process what she had heard. “I... well, thank you Scholar, that’s-”

“After all, this is my place now. Do you have  _any_ idea of how hard it is to get stains out?”

“Aaaaand there’s the other horseshoe.”

Scholar chuckled. “I try. Well!” He clapped his hands together. “I think that’s everything, so on to the  _next_  phase of my  _dastardly_  plan!” The last part was heavily dramaticized and over-emphasized.

Rainbow Dash scowled as she rubbed futilely at her eyes, trying to dispel the feeling of immense liquid nitrogen and molten magma being simultaneously poured into her sockets. “Oh yeah?” She growled as she blinked owlishly. “And what would  _that_  be?”

Scholar’s smirk became predatory. His grimoire snapped open in his hand, runes flowing out and around him. The crystals composing the cage containing the Crystal Heart flashed as they turned inwards, black lightning dancing along their points. “Well, it starts with  _this.”_

The runes halted their movement, the crystals lit up with black lightning...

And the Crystal Heart  _shattered._

Cadance’s eyes snapped wide in shock.  _“NOOOO!”_  She shrieked, struggling desperately against Shining Armor’s renewed grip.

The Elements and Spike stared in horror as the fragments of the diamond flew about.

The onlooking Crystal Ponies gasped in shock and awe, murmurs and whispers running far and wide throughout the crowd.

Applejack, who had been helping to support Rainbow Dash, blinked in surprise as something registered with her. She raised her head and scanned the crowd.

Rainbow Dash grunted in surprise at the loss of contact. “Something wrong?”

The cowpony swallowed heavily. “Hopefully nothin’, otherwise... we might be in some  _serious_  manure.”

Cadance gasped for breath for a second before growling and attempting to lunge at Scholar, once again being restrained by her husband. “You  _bastard!”_  She screeched. “You damn low-life bastard! Do you know what that  _was!?_  Do you know how much t-time and effort- it was a work of  _art!_  And you just- just... _”_

“Destroyed it?” Scholar asked innocently. “I did. A shame, for like so many artifacts before it, it was both elegant yet fully capable of killing me and those I care for. But hey!” His glasses flashed as his smirk became even more malicious. “No worries. Remember that old saying I brought along with me to this world!”

His runes flowed along the ground, interacting with the fragments. Slowly, they glowed and lifted into the air, floating above the crowds. The Equestrians watched with awe and the Academics watched with ill-suppressed glee.

“Waste not, want not!”

The crystal fragments shot into the remnants of the cage. The crystals crunched and ground into each other, dust swirling into complex shapes and runes illuminated the entire arrangement like a tiny, shining cloud that grew in size as the crunching and grinding became a hissing sound before it rose into a chiming as the transformation began to reach it's end. Arrays blanketed the crystalline mass before there was a final flash of light.

The dust and light cleared, and the onlookers gasped in awe.

Floating before scholar was a large crystal cube, its sides each a yard long. The cube was composed of smaller cubes, twenty seven in all. The crystal was multihued, flickering and morphing through a wide spectrum of colors. Occasionally, the sides flipped at ninety degree angles one way or another in a seemingly random manner. Runes and magic swirled around the cube in an ethereal aura. The glyphs flowed along the smaller cubes, sometimes flashing and shifting. The cube seemed to simply  _exude_  energy.

Twilight swallowed heavily as the arcane magic washed over her. “What... is that?”

Scholar’s expression shifted, going from a smug smirk to a content grin. “This... is a masterpiece. One that I started designing about a week or so before everything went to hell. I worked on finishing it the whole week I was here. This... is the Crystal Matrix.” Scholar’s smirk renewed tenfold. “Now, here’s how things are going to work out.”

He snapped his hand out, sending a flurry of runes flying past the Equestrians. The crowd parted as the snowflake-shaped design in the center of the plaza lit up. A pair of crystal spires began growing, one from the ground and another from the bottom of the citadel above. The two stopped their movement with their points a little more than a meter apart.

_“That_  is the central node for Vitrum’s main communication array.” He explained “By plugging the Matrix into it, I can tap into the rest of the city’s systems and reawaken them. From there, I’ll have complete control of every  _inch_  of this place. And no, Twilight,” he cut her off, seeing her disbelieving look. “That is  _not_  an exaggeration. Vitrum wasn’t unconquerable for nothing, back in the day being an enemy of the state in this city was literally not a viable tactical option.”

“So!” Gilda clapped her talons together eagerly. “Any questions before we finish owning your dweeb-asses?”

“Yes...” Cadance growled, slowly extricating herself from Shining Armor’s grip and shakily rising to her hooves. Her horn sputtered and flashed for a second before fully igniting. “What the  _hell_  makes you think that I’m going to let you get that thing anywhere  _near_  that node?”

The Magisters narrowed their eyes, preparing to fight... but were halted by Scholar raising his hand.

The human frowned at the Alicorn. “Cadance... why are you acting like this? So devoted, so earnest... you’re on your last legs, and you know it. Even back in the old days you never went this far.”

Cadance flared her nostrils. “What happened to Concordia was a mistake. A horrible, horrible mistake that I truly regret. Ever since those years, all along those two millennia, there have only been three things that I have taken pride in. The first is my marriage with my husband.” Shining Armor couldn’t help but to smile.

“The fact that I was able to help a young foal grow into a beautiful, intelligent mare.”

Twilight’s eyes widened, pride filling her to the brim.

“And lastly...” She turned her head to gaze out over the crowd. “This city. The Crystal Empire was my home. I sealed the majority of it and mutilated it because it was the only way to keep from drawing any attention, to make Vitrum’s threat seem minimal. The troops that were positioned here? They were  _nothing_  compared to those that were elsewhere. I’m not saying that things were perfect, but I did my best to alleviate things. I tried my best to make sure that the  _witch_   _hunts_  Celestia insisted on performing for members of the Academia rarely turned up any results. I  _protected_  my citizens, I kept them  _safe!_  I even tried my best to give  _them_  as much comfort as I possibly could!”

Throughout her tirade, Cadance’s voice had been rising and becoming more determined. “It wasn’t perfect, I know that! I know that it doesn’t excuse what I did! I know that I can never make up for it but damn if I haven’t tried! I have done horrible things, but the cost has never been worth it! The constant nightmares, the memories of the consequences of my choices, the relentless thought in my head that I could have done better, that I  _should_  have done better!”

She breathed heavily, her mane shadowing her face. “But nevertheless...” She continued quietly, her voice naught but a whisper. “The Crystal Empire... was my home. The Crystal Empire was one of the few jewels I could find in this self-inflicted hell that I’ve been living. I already failed it once when Sombra overthrew me...”

Cadance raised her head to meet Scholar’s gaze, an inferno of determination blazing in her eyes. “I’ll die before I let you take it away from me again.”

For the longest time, the two stared at each other unflinchingly, testing their wills against each other.

Finally, Scholar sighed and bowed his head. “Your determination is admirable. But...” He looked back up at her again, his glasses glinting. “That’s not going to be enough to stop me. Besides,” He smirked confidently. “I’ve got a plan.”

“Oh yeah?” Rainbow Dash growled, flaring her wings as she glared straight ahead. “Just try it!”

“...”

“What? You got nothing to say?”

“Erm... Rainbow Dash, darling?”

“Yeah Rarity?”

“You’re... speaking to Twilight.”

“DAMN IT TRIXIE, STOP MESSING WITH MY EYES!”

The blue unicorn snickered to herself.

“Anyways!” Scholar continued. “I, as always, have a plan for getting past you dopes.”

“And  _that_  would be?” Cadance demanded.

“Well you see...” He started, wringing his hands together. “It starts with- NOW!” He roared at the Golem Twins. Acting on cue and before anyone could realize what was happening, Nix hurled Twilight at the Equestrians and Null grabbed the Matrix, both flying straight towards their goal.

Cadance blinked in shock for a second before hastily grabbing Twilight with her magic and setting her on the ground. She then tried to blast the red golem with a bolt of energy. Null spun around the attack, tossing the cube to his sister. Rainbow Dash tried to take off and grab them, but was evaded with ease. Applejack also put up a valiant effort, trying to lasso the pair, but was rewarded with her rope being cut to ribbons.

Reaching the spires, Nix tossed the Crystal Matrix into the open space, where it hung spinning in the air. They then sped back over to Scholar’s side.

Thinking quickly, Applejack reared up on her forelegs, lashed out with her back hooves...

SLAM!

“OW! CONSARNIT!”

And hollered in pain when they slammed into a barrier of glyphs.

“Nice try!” Nix taunted.

“But there’s no way we’d leave such an important access point unguarded!” Null finished.

Cadance shook her head, trying to clear the fog from her mind. “I...it doesn’t matter...” She muttered half-heartedly. “You still need... a spark to integrate it... and the only way... is for the Empire’s citizens to be happy...”

Scholar stared at her deadpan for a second before raising his hand and snapping his fingers.Trixie grinned eagerly, her horn lighting up in a dark purple aura.

Seconds later, the crystal floor began lighting up as magic flowed into the Crystal Matrix.

Twilight’s ears lowered as she watched the Matrix begin to rotate rapidly. “Oh minotaur shit...”

The Rune Keeper puffed out his chest with pride. “Excellent work, Trixie! A fine illusion indeed,  and so rapid too!”

The unicorn illusionist’s pupils dilated as she darted her eyes back and forth. “Um... er...  _riiiiight.”_

Upon hearing her hesitant tone, her friends and comrades snapped their attention to her.

“Trixie...” Nix started.

“What aren’t you telling us?” Her crimson brother finished nervously.

“Well...” Trixie rubbed her shoulder nervously. “The... _Confused_  and Confounded Trixie... hasn’t exactly...  _cast_  her spell yet.”

Iron Will and Gilda’s eyes bulged incredulously.  _“What!?”_  They hissed incredulously.

Scholar’s head whipped around and scanned over the crowd. “But how...” His eyes widened in realization. He then began to shake and shudder.

Nix and Null floated over his shoulder hesitantly.

“Scholar...?”

“Is everything alright?”

Scholar shook even more violently, threw his head back, and...

“HAHAHAHAHA!”

Promptly sent the two of them reeling when he burst into uproarious laughter.

The twins blinked in unison. “What the-!?” They demanded in unison.

Scholar’s only response was to laugh harder, slapping his hand over his eyes as he cackled. “HAHAHAHAAA! IT NEVER FELL!” He gasped, tears of joy streaming out from between his fingers. “EVEN AFTER ALL THAT TIME! ALL THOSE YEARS! IT! NEVER! FELL!”

Gilda gave the Twins a bemused look. “Do you have any idea what the hell he’s going on about?”

They shook their heads in response.

“Nope.”

“Not even the foggiest.”

Finally, Scholar stopped laughing as he sighed contentedly as he leaned back forwards, his chest heaving as he gasped for breath. “I’ll... I’ll tell you soon enough... For now...” He smirked as he eyed the glowing cube that was spinning rapidly. “Let’s put this place under...  _new management.”_

The Lexicon snapped open in a flash, runes pouring out of it in an arcane torrent, shifting and rearranging into array after array. The Matrix’s rotation sped up until the cube was naught but a blur. Finally, the cube shattered, the smaller cubes flying out of the plaza in a blur of light. The remaining cube’s radiance could be equated to that of a small star.

Scholar glanced back at his assistants. “Ready?”

The Twins nodded eagerly. “Ready!”

The Rune Keeper flicked his hand hand from his book to the pair, sending a flurry of glyphs at the two. When it struck them, the two jerked for a second, their eyes flashing with energy before they somewhat snapped to attention. Their hands floated before them, fingers splayed and ready. Runes formed arrays directly beneath their fingertips and several screens of glyphs with data shifting at break neck speeds appeared before them.

Their fingers moved at blinding speeds, typing on the runeboards and flicking through streams of information. Nix and Null spoke in chorus, their voices devoid of emotion.  **“Connecting to Vitrum Maintenance Networks. Standby... Connection established. Warning: Networks in critical disrepair. Warning: Environmental hazard detected. Foreign energy signature identified as hostile, inhibiting Rune Networks and negatively affecting residents. Activating Environmental Protection Arrays.”**

Runes flowed along the crystal roads, lighting them up once anew in an arcane light.

**“Commencing environmental purge.”**

The light in the streets shifted to a dark red, flaring up and out of the crystal and into the air in a blinding inferno of magic. The very _air_  burned like oil on water.

This went on for a full minute before the light receded.

The ponies stumbled around in shock, their minds reeling from the sudden influx of magic. While Scholar didn’t even twitch, the reactions from the rest were far more expressive, as demonstrated when Iron Will groaned as he rolled his shoulders, “Iron Will is feeling much, much better now.”

“Oh yeah!” Gilda crowed gleefully as in a flash of lighting the black crystal covering her was replaced by her usual gold plates. She smirked victoriously as she checked her armor over, readjusting her aviator goggles on her forehead. “Finally! Those crystals might have been a rush, but their colors left a lot to be desired. No gold, no glitz  _or_  glory!”

“Agreed!” Trixie concurred as she used her magic to flap out her hat and unfurl her cape. “The dark and mysterious look is  _not_  befitting of the Great and Powerful Trixie! Silver alone is truly capable of displaying her splendor!”

The Equestrians however, were not quite so happy as they stared wide-eyed at the group, even as they felt the raw magical energy surging through them. To varying reactions.

Pinkie Pie vibrated in place, “Wowowwowwowwowwowwow! Thiiisss iiisss grrreeaaattt!” Only the tense situation stopped her from immediately launching into party planner mode and covering the city with streamers, balloons and other decorations.

Twilight’s horn was lit up like a sparkler, sparks jumping out of it wildly as she visibly fought to keep her magic under control. “Speak for yourself...” She grunted, sounding as though she was about to be sick.

Rarity groaned as her own horn imitated Twilight. “Agreed! It feels like I’m about to burst!”

For once, Spike was in disagreement. He was flat on his back, moaning happily. “How’s that a bad thing? I feel great! Like I’ve eaten a whole  _buffet_  of crystals!”

“EEP!” Fluttershy hid behind her mane as her wings poofed out uncontrollably. “O-oh dear... oh my...” Her habits might have worked to dull her sense of shame, but even she found her situation to be embarrassing. “I-I- look, I can explain this...”

“Nah, no need.” Rainbow sighed as she rolled her shoulders and flexed her own stiffened wings. “This is natural. Excess energy makes you stiffen up. Believe me, I popped a wingy more than enough times in weather-management training to know. Lightning clouds can be real shifty. Still, one heck of a jolt, am I right Applejack?”

The cowpony hummed in agreement, looking over her body contemplatively. “This is... somethin’. Feels like I could bench-press ten hay-bales at once. Plus  _Big Mac.”_

Cadance sighed happily as she used her magic to straighten her coat out, the fatigue gone from her eyes. “Well, I suppose that there are _some_  advantages to more magic. I’ll have to bring it up with Celestia... Still!” She glanced over at Shining Armor. “How do you feel Shiny?”

Her husband responded with an eager grin, his horn flashing as his magic ran all over him. Light glinted off of the air surrounding his person. “Like I could help capture some wanted felons.”

Cadance nodded in agreement, her wings and magic flaring as she glared at the Academics. “Music to my ears.”

Scholar’s response was to flip to another page in his book, conjure an Array around the covers and slap his hand into the middle of it. “Initiating Primary Administrator Override. Designating subjects Shining Armor and Cadance as hostile.”

**“Override accepted. Defensive Network activated. Deploying Class-Omega Containment ‘Heartbreaker’ and Class-One Containment Modules.”**

Cadance paled drastically. “Oh. Right. He can do that.”

Before either of them could react, seven pillars of rune-encrusted crystal shot out of the ground. Six were arrayed around Cadance and one was in front of Shining Armor.

The ones around Cadance were equidistant in a hexagonal pattern, heavily engraved with an intricate pattern of runes, glyphs and shapes. A cloud of arcane letters orbited around them. They flashed once before several tethers of energy lashed out, interconnecting the pillars and wrapping around Cadance. She struggled momentarily before the runes hit her. She collapsed to her knees, devoid of magic again.

The pillar in front of Shining Armor was far less intricate, carrying only a few uniform rings of words. A tether of magic lashed out and wrapped around Shining’s horn and body, shattering his  protective sphere.

However, unlike his wife, Shining didn’t collapse. Instead, he grunted forcefully as his horn flared even brighter. Slowly, the binding lifted off of him, held back by a visible pink barrier.

Scholar whistled appreciatively. “My my. Impressive.”

Shining chuckled ruefully as he cracked an eye open to look at the human. “What did you expect? I’m Twilight’s brother. I might not have her reserves, but I was made Captain for a good reason.”

The Rune Keeper hummed. “Well. It looks like I’ll just have to take you seriously.” He twisted the array in his hand at a ninety degree.

A line of runes flashed before the Twins.  **“Reassesing threat level to Class-Three.”**

A pair of pillars extended behind Shining Armor, breaking through his shield and bringing him to his knees.

“Shiny!” Twilight raised a hoof towards her brother.

“Hup hup hup!” Scholar cut her off with a raised finger. “Aiding a criminal will only end up with you being designated as an enemy of the state. Don’t want to end up in Class- _Four_  containment, do you?”

The lavender unicorn whimpered fearfully as she took a step back.

“Good. Now then...” Scholar laced his fingers and popped his knuckles eagerly. “This is when things get serious.” He traced out several lines of runes before a circular array with a pulsing rune in the middle coalesced directly over his book. “Initiating total system reset.” He slammed his palm through the rune and into the page.

The Twins eyes flashed.  **“Reset initiated.** **Restoring Operating System from last known backup. Warning: multiple system restrictions in place. Administrator Authorisation: Mi Amore Cadenza.”**

“Override. Administrator Authorisation: Scholar.”

**“Administrator Override accepted. Removing restrictions. Purging locks. Purging restricted backups. Reactivating dormant systems and networks. Warning: Major partitions of Vitrum deactivated. Subarchives, Overloft, Lucente District. Confirm reactivation.”**

Scholar nodded definitively. “Confirmation, Authorization: Scholar.”

**“Confirmed. Commencing reactivation.”**

A combination of cracking and shattering began to fill the streets of Vitrum. All over the city, cracks spiderwebbed in the ground. Walls of runes materialized, slowly pushing the Crystal Ponies away from the areas of activity as the cracks grew in size, pieces of crystal flying through the air to bounce off the rune-walls with loud  _pings_  before clattering to the ground.

With mighty lurches, massive spires of crystal jutted out of the ground, spearing into the sky. They reached high enough to scratch the sky. Fissures split the streets apart, cracking it open with chasms that stretched deep into the earth.

Suddenly, the plaza began shuddering violently. Chasms encircled the area, and the castle above. With a huge jerk, the entire area wrenched itself from the ground, floating up and up and up, until the plaza was equal with the center of the towers.

It seemed as though the entire city would rip itself apart but even as everyone present watched, the floating sections of the city that had torn themselves free began to shed more and more crystals, filling the air with a cacophony that made the Equestrians cover their ears while Scholar and his comrades simply blocked the sound with their magic.

There was a moment of silence before a large amount of crashing rang out. Finally, eight separate bridges shot out of the towers, connecting to the plaza. All around the city, bridges and staircases were interlinking buildings, forming roads that interlaced through the heights of the city. Runes floated languidly through the air, in streams, clouds, or simply alone without any accompaniment.

**“Lucente District activated.”**

Shattering echoed from the depths of the chasms that were left. Jagged towers jutted out of the bottom of the floating areas and from out of the walls of the ravines. Lights lit up all along the depths, illuminating the land-locked depths. Stairs and bridges interlinked the towers.

The walls of the chasms cracked open, tunnels reaching deep into the heart of the crystal. They stretched deep, deep beneath the city, leading to secrets that had laid hidden and untold for centuries.

Down, down the fissures went, tearing open the land as the Crystal Ponies stared wide-eyed alongside the Equestrians while Scholar’s grin threatened to split his face in two as he watched the bridges jut out like jagged spines to link sections together, shafts of clear crystal forming to channel magical energy as he pointed out features to his enraptured comrades.

Twilight and the others were close enough to hear him explain about the shafts containing magic that allowed for safe and rapid ascents and descents to certain levels of the archives, a massive and sprawling collection of knowledge.

Twilight’s ears pricked up and she couldn’t help but speak up. “Are... there any libraries?”

Scholar nodded, uncaring as to her allegiance, “Yup. The one you guys were in was a fraction of the whole. Eh, I’ll see about whether or not you get a pass later.”

**“Subarchives activated.”**

More shattering rang out, only this came from  _beyond_  the city limits.

Once the noise died out, there was silence. Nothing appeared to be changed.

Then, a shadow began to fall across the crowd.

Shouts of shock rang out as the ponies looked up to behold an island of crystal floating above the city. Towers of crystals hung beneath it like massive stalactites.

And it wasn’t alone. It was joined by more and more fragments of landscape, ranging from gargantuan to relatively minor.

Some floated low enough for bridges to extend up to their borders, and others reached up from them to those higher up.

To the shock of the Equestrians, falling off the side of some of the islands was...

“Water?” Rainbow Dash asked in shock.

“Eeee-yup!” Scholar nodded definitively. “From rivers, flowing over the edge. Looks like the ecosystems up there are a-okay. From what I’m reading here, it looks like the forests unsealed alright too. Going to need to remove some of the animals from stasis in the archives and start repopulating though... Ah well, them’s the breaks.”

**“Overloft activated. All districts reactivated and at full operating capacity. All other systems activating normally. Entering standby mode.”**  The Twins shook their heads violently, dismissing the Arrays in front of them.

“Gugh!” Nix cried, clutching her head and readjusting it. “That  _sucked!_ I hate it when we do that!”

“Agreed!” Null concurred. “It feels like something went rifling around in our heads!”

“Hey hey hey!” Scholar protested over his shoulder, absentmindedly flicking through his grimoire and running over the appearing rooms. “Don’t stop now, I need to know how things are running while I recalibrate the defense systems!”

Nix and Null’s eyes twitched simultaneously.

“You want intel...”

“Make  _them_  do it!”

And with that, the Golems sent flicked their hands at the trio, causing streams of data to flow in front of them.

Iron Will blinked in shock before narrowing his eyes. “Umm... wow, alright... Iron Will sees that the residential districts are being relocated and refurbished... Environmental Arrays running at full capacity, maintaining biomes...”

“Hmm...” Trixie muttered under her breath as she ran her hoof over the lines of runes. “Archives are intact, stasis seals preserved...” She smiled grimly as she read over a particular line of text. “Oh yes...Trixie shall  _enjoy_ plumbing such depths of knowledge.” Her smile morphed into a grimace as she read over another line. “Except when it’s about  _plumbing,_  ugh.”

Gilda hummed to herself as she tapped at the runes with a claw. “Time and dates are resetting... external connections are being reestablished... the guards are arming themselves at the armory...” She froze and reread the data. “Wait a second...”

Scholar whipped around and stared at her in shock. “Wait,  _what!?”_

Before anyone could react, a large amount of stomping and flapping filled the air, rapidly approaching the plaza.

Iron Will groaned and ran his hand over his face. “Ooooh crap...”

The Crystal Ponies parted as armored stallions and mares streamed into the plaza. They came from both the ground and the air, Earth Ponies and Unicorns toting spears and swords, and Pegasi flapping above the crowd, some with spears clutched in their hooves and others with bows and arrows. Their armor was deep silver, covering the majority of their bodies and encrusted with runes.

A full platoon encircled the Academics, spears lowered directly at them. Pegasi hovered above them, some with arrows nocked for their heads and hearts.

A quartet of ponies trotted from out of the crowd. One was an Earth Pony stallion, one a Unicorn mare, and two were twin pegasi, a male and female. Their armor was far more intricate, with color highlighting the majority of it and runes glowing visibly along their limbs. They trotted wordlessly towards Cadance and Shining Armor. The Earth Pony, Unicorn and male Pegasus went over to the Alicorn, and the female Pegasus to the Captain of the Guard.

Scholar growled under his breath but plastered a smile on his face. “Well I’ll be damned! Pilum!”

The ruby-red Earth Pony grunted in acknowledgement, tossing his golden mane back with a negligent flick.

“Gladia!”

The Unicorn with a glittering diamond-white coat snorted derisively, an expertly-styled lock of light green mane covering an eye.

“Arcus! And your dear sister Sagitta too!”

The sapphire male Pegasus rolled his eyes and his emerald sister spat on the ground, their light blue manes cut shot and practical.

“The greatest generals of ponydom! After my time of course.Weren’t you promoted about a day or so after I was convicted? Eh, either way, none of  _my_  business. So, hows that extended life that comes from higher ranks working out for you, hm? I bet you were enjoying it! Well, right until Sombra threw you in prison. See,  _this_  is why I was against people opening the cells, some of you were in there for a reason!”

The generals ignored him in favor of the captive ponies. As one, they stuck their hooves into the pillars. There was a flash of light and runes and then the containment modules receded into the ground, releasing their captives and allowing the Gladia and Arcus to support Cadance and Saggita to help Shining Armor.

Scholar’s smile morphed into a grimace. “Ah. Administrative authority. Ooooof course. Perfect.”

Pilum turned around to glare at the Academics. “By the authority of the Equestrian state, you four are under arrest for terrorism, anarchy, and treason. Surrender peacefully or we will use lethal force.”

The soldiers all took a step forwards, jabbing their weapons at the group. The Academics glanced at each other hesitantly, but acquiesced when Scholar half-heartedly raised his hands in front of his chest.

“Damn it, this is like Las Pegasus/Vegas all over again!”

Scholar and Trixie gave each other shocked looks before Scholar gave Cadance a scathing glare.

“Damn it, you renamed Vegas too!? Is  _nothing_  sacred to you people!?”

**-o-**

Deep beneath Vitrum, at the bottom of the Subarchives, massive crystal chains criss-crossed over a pair of gates that lay flat on the ground.

Suddenly, runes flowed along the chains, causing them to unlatch from their positions and recede into the walls. Multiple Arrays flashed over the gates for a moment before disintegrating into oblivion.

Slowly, with a great amount of grinding and grating, the gates swung up and open. Light shone down into the cavern below.

For a second nothing. Then, something stirred within the shaded darkness.

Nothing moved, and then...

Light glinted off of a bone-white set of lipless fangs that curved into a grim smile of satisfaction.


	15. To Revolution!

“So, are we going to do the ‘long, awkward silence’ thing again, or can we just skip straight to the good stuff?” Scholar demanded impatiently.

The soldiers didn’t respond, choosing instead to glare at him coolly.

The human sighed and rolled his eyes. “Fine, if you won’t talk,  _I_  will. First and foremost, if you’re arresting us, I want a lawyer. Someone reptilian, they’re always great. Second, I want it to be a nice and public court trial. Third-”

“Do you  _really_  think you’re getting a trial?” Gladia demanded incredulously.

Scholar regarded her evenly. “Oh? So you’re saying we won’t be receiving due process?” He inquired innocently.

Pilum stamped his hoof definitively, lowering his javelin at them. “Not when dealing with enemies of the state practitioning illegal magic.”

“Illegal magic!?” Nix shrieked indignantly.

“Minotaur  _shit!”_   Null concurred. “The illegal magic here is the macroenvironmental interference you jackasses are running!

“All else falls under the purview of the Academia, where it will be debated!”

“And  _then_  decided about whether or not to be outlawed!”

Arcus snorted. “Yeah, that’s how things used to be.”

“But!” Sagitta continued, “The Academia became defunct a few millennia back,  _so_...”

Nix and Null’s eyes bulged as they sputtered indignantly.

“You two hard-asses...”

“Did  _not!”_

“Just steal!”

“Our quirk!”

“Yes, tragic, we know!” Scholar cut off impatiently. “Let’s move it along.”

“Agreed.” Pilum stated gruffly. “Let’s get to the part where we run the lot of you through, hm?”

“W-Wait!” Twilight protested, getting her magic under control. “Y-you’re just going to  _kill_  them?”

Gladia rolled her eyes at the Unicorn’s naivety. “Well we already tried imprisoning them. Look how well  _that_  turned out.”

“Oh I have to agree!” Scholar concurred cheerfully. His demeanor then shifted from carefree to glacial. “But then again...” He intoned darkly as he folded his arms behind his back. “While we’re on the subject of past occurrences, let’s remember how many times people have tried to kill me, hm? Let’s remember how well  _those_  turned out.”

Sagitta and Arcus barked out harsh laughs simultaneously.

“Oh give it a rest you arrogant prick!”

“This is like your downfall all over again!”

“We have you surrounded...”

“And dead to rights!”

Nix and Null growled viciously.

“I’m going to slit their throats...” Null snarled.

“And I’m going to keep them alive through every second of it!” Nix concurred.

Scholar ignored them, choosing instead to focus on the generals. “There’s a big difference between the then and the now.  _Then_  the soldiers were innocent, and truly thought they were doing the right thing.  _Now?_  You’ve all got innocent blood on your blades. It doesn’t matter how right you think you are, that’s a death sentence, one I will be all too willing to dish out.”

Pilum snorted, “And how do you intend to do that?”

“Yeah!” Sagitta crowed, “You…”

“...and what army?” finished Arcus.

“Oh come on!” Nix hollered.

“That wasn’t even a good one!” Null added.

Their protests were silenced by Scholar raising a hand.

He gave the Pegasi an amused look. “‘What army you ask? Why...” He swept his arm out, indicating his allies. “The one directly behind me of course!”

Gladia rolled her eyes at what she believed to be Scholar’s folly. “Forgive me if I find it hard to believe that a rag-tag bunch of misfits could count as an army.”

Scholar gasped in an overly dramatic manner, whipping his hand to his mouth. “Bite your tongue, nag! This only proves my point of how you all have botched things! It should be common knowledge that rag-tag bunches of misfits make the  _best_  armies! Here, allow me to break things down for you.”

“First,” He jerked his thumb at the Golem Twins. “We have Tweedle Doofus and Tweedle Dumbass here.”

“Ey!”

“Oh!”

“Their IQs might be lacking, and they can be crass as all hell, but in the end? They know how to kick some serious ass. You should know. After all, you captured them when they literally tore through this city trying to get to me.”

Nix and Null’s moods flipped from indignant to smug.

“Say brother,” Nix inquired innocently. “Just how many soldiers do you think we left unrecognizable before the Royal  _Nags_  took us down?”

“I dunno, sister.” Null replied in a saccharine tone. “I lost count. Had to be triple digits though, at the least.”

“Next!” Scholar continued unabated. “We have these three, starting with him.” He pointed at Iron Will. “ _He_  is by far the gutsiest minotaur I have ever seen. He has stuck with me through thick and thin this entire week, and not once has he wavered. And the way he handled those crystals, carving them out, moving them, shaking them... he is  _by far_  one of the most skilled Mountain Raisers that I have  _ever_  known.”

Iron Will’s jaw dropped open in shock.

“Second!” He moved on to Trixie. “The  _irrefutably_   _Great_  and  _Powerful_  Trixie! She doesn’t boast, she  _earned_  that title! If you’re looking for an incredible illusionist, nay! An incredible  _Fog Weaver,_  then look no further! I’ve known some good ones: Morgana, Jasper the Elusive, The Spy, even  _Luna!_  But none of them,  _none_  have had the ability to ensorcell an entire  _city_  simultaneously! Sure, she had power from the crystals, but they wouldn’t have helped her with her concentration, her control! No, that was all her. Never before have I seen such a mare with pure, raw talent!”

Trixie stared at him, speechless and awestruck until she regained her composure and posed pridefully, preening at the praise.

“And last!” He jabbed his finger at Gilda. “But oh,  _so_  far from least! Gilda, Gilda, Gilda... what can I say about her that is not self-evident? Breaking through ward after seemingly impregnable ward, like they were wet cardboard! Truly a genius... And that’s her skill with runes alone! In the air... She is the very  _definition,_  the  _pinnacle_  of what a Storm Knight aspires to be! No, that’s wrong. She  _is_  a Storm Knight, the best to patrol the skies. No doubt about it.”

Rainbow Dash felt a lump of ice form in her stomach as she saw Gilda’s face take on an air of immense satisfaction.  _‘She’s... she’s happier than she ever was at camp... with me...’_

“Furthermore!” Scholar persisted. “They worked in conjunction to do the  _impossible!_  They surpassed the dangers of the Labyrinth, successfully circumvented Cerberus, and thoroughly defeated the Gates of Tartarus! They orchestrated the invasion of Canterlot, and they have stuck with me through thick and through thin. I didn’t promote them to Magisters for the hell of it, I promoted them because they _earned_  it! I am  _honored_  to call them members of the Academia Arcana, as well as my friends.”

_This_  caused the trio to gape at him in shock.

“I know,” He pressed on. “That I can trust them to have my back, through thick or through thin. I know that they’ll stand by my side, no matter the consequences. I know that they’ll support me when I fall down, and I know that when I do something stupid, they’ll berate me for it and bring me down to earth. And I know! That when I wake up in the drunk tank after getting positively hammered, Gilda and Trixie will be at my side laughing it up, while Iron Will will be berating us for being insane idiots!”

The minotaur grimaced, slumping forwards miserably. He shot a half-hearted glare at Gilda as she patted his back in false sympathy, her amused smirk betraying her true feelings.

“ _That!”_   Scholar stated confidently, his arms crossed over his chest. “Is my army, Gladia! And they are  _more_  than enough for you and your flunkies!” He glanced down at his still-open grimoire and smirked in success. “Them, and my friend of course.”

Everyone else blinked in surprise.

“What friend!?” The Equestrians asked almost simultaneously.

**“ROOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAARRRR!!!!”**

Scholar smirked victoriously.  _“That_  friend.”

Before anyone could react, the sound of shattering crystal rang out again from over the edge of the plaza. The sound became louder and louder, until it seemed to fill the air.

Before the eyes of the dumbstruck onlookers, a gargantuan pillar of jagged crystal grew, literally  _grew_  up and above the plaza. Crystal after crystal materialized and spiked out as the pillar grew. Situated on top of the pillar was a massive white being.

Pilum paled drastically, his mouth running dry.  “D...d...d...”

Slowly, the being drew itself up to it’s full height, glaring down at the Equestrians.

Gilda worked her beak helplessly. “D-d-d-d... d-d-d-d-!”

The being jerked forwards, jumping from the top of the pillar to the plaza, landing with a resounding CRASH!

“D... d-d-d... d-d-d-!” Rarity stammered in abject terror.

The being reared it’s head back opened it’s jaw, and split the air with a massive  _roar._

_“Dragon.”_  Fluttershy whimpered.

**“ROOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAARRRR!!!!”**

And what a dragon it was. Gargantuan, almost 25 feet tall. The dragon didn’t have any skin, and was in fact coated in a pale, snow-white hide. He was insanely thin, his arms like massive sticks, and his ribs were easily visible through his chest. Protruding from his back were six massive wings.

Rather than being draconian, they were an iridescent set of dragonfly-like wings shimmering with shades of blue and purple. His head was perched upon a long, serpentine neck. It was angular, and had five tentacle-like horns jutting back over it’s scalp. It’s fangs merged with it’s skin, resulting in a pair of lipless jaws. But though what it’s head was sporting was odd, what it lacked was far more perplexing.

The dragon didn’t have any eyes, just an expanse of skin.

Further more, the fact that it was a dragon could only be discerned from it’s upper torso. Below the waist, the dragon was... completely foreign. A massive glowing blue orb of crystal wrapped in skin occupied where it’s pelvis would be. A trio of immense tentacles grew down and around the orb, two on either side on the front half, and one longer one sticking out the rear end like a tail. Crystals ran all along the top of the tentacles, and macro-sized cilia grew out of the undersides.

Cadance paled dramatically, her pupils dilating in terror. “Oh no...”

“Oh yes.” Scholar gloated. “Full system reset, Cadance. That means that  _he_  goes free.” He then proceeded to turn towards the dragon, sweep his arm across his waist, and take a deep bow. “I am glad to see you well once again, Duke Seath.”

The dragon slowly turned his head towards him and nodded respectfully. “And I you, Lord Scholar.” His voice was like twin mountains of diamond grinding against each other. Deep, scratchy, and  _powerful._

Regaining their wits, the generals acted hastily, stamping their hooves on the ground.

Seath snapped his head towards them, his fangs twisted into a scowl. He snapped his arm up, a ring of runes appearing all around his limb. “Executive Authorization.” He growled quietly, his voice filled with cold rage. “Authorization for Generals Pilum, Gladia, Arcus and Sagitta and Oligarchs Cadenza Mi Amore, Luna and Celestia  _revoked.”_

The faces of those named dropped as ice-water flooded their veins.

Scholar nodded gratefully. “Thank you, Seath. I’m happy to see that my trust in you was well placed.”

The dragon was silent, staring at the Equestrians for a moment before bowing his head, a miserable keening noise rippling from his chest. “Do not thank me, Scholar.” He rumbled miserably. “I failed. I failed Vitrum, and I failed Concordia. I failed you. You entrusted Vitrum to me after it was created, after you helped me bring my design to life, and I  _failed._ Worst of all, I failed the citizens who entrusted their lives to me. They needed me to be strong... and instead I was weak.”

_**“Don’t!”** _

Seath whipped his head towards Scholar, shocked at the sudden shift in tone. Scholar’s runes were shifting violently around him, magic flaring around him as he glared at the dragon.

Scholar took a deep breath, his magic settling before he turned his head away.

“Don’t. Don’t blame yourself.” He croaked sadly. “If you failed, then so did I. I should have fought harder, I should have seen things coming. I should have done better. Me!” He panted heavily for a second.

“Look... what happened, happened. We know how prickly time-travel can be, so we both know all too well that we can’t change the past. But...” He fixed Seath with a piercing stare. “That doesn’t mean we can’t fix the future. That doesn’t mean we can’t bring back what once was. It’ll be hard work. And I’ll need all the help I can get to do it.”

Seath stared at him silently for a minute before snorting and grinning ruefully. “Well then... in that case...” He turned to stare at the Equestrians, his smile becoming downright demonic. “We had better get started.”

Scholar turned and grinned right alongside him, his glasses glinting malevolently. “Seath my friend, your words are music to my ears.”

“Not today, foul demons!”

Nearly all the soldiers present flinched simultaneously as a strident and pompous voice rang out over the crowd.

Gladia slapped her hoof to her face. “Oh sweet Celestia...”

Rarity’s mouth dropped open in shock, “Wh-but how the  _buck_ is he-!?”

Cadance shot Pilum an unhappy grimace. “Is that who I think that is?”

The crimson stallion nodded reluctantly. “Much to my regret.”

Gilda’s eye was twitching violently. “Oh you have  _got_  to be kidding me.”

The crowd parted as a stallion galloped right up to Seath. He was dressed in a fancy and overly redundant suit of armor. Latched to his back was an intricately forged lance, it’s head shaped like a roaring dragon. His coat was a blinding pearl-white, and his heavily styled mane was sapphire-blue.

But the most astonishing part was that he looked exactly like...

“Prince Blueblood!?” Twilight exclaimed in shock.

“Hm?” He turned his head and raised his eyebrow at her before turning his head up arrogantly. “Who is this ‘Blueblood’, peasant? Do you not recognize the glorious form of  _the_  Prince Aristo? Hm? The mightiest dragonslayer in all the land? Step back!” He grabbed the lance off his back with his magic and twirled it around, jabbing it at Seath. “I shall slay this foul beast, once and for all!”

The crystal dragon arched his neck so as to gaze at the ‘prince’ incredulously. “Dear Ladon, I think he’s serious.”

Scholar narrowed his eyes at the stallion inquisitively. “Wait a second... is... no way... couldn’t be... but- holy  _shit!”_  His eyes all but popped from his sockets. He whipped around and gaped at Cadance. “Y-you let Noblesse Oblige  _spawn!?”_

The Alicorn chewed her lip miserably. “Believe me, I feel the same way...”

“Noblesse Oblige, Noblesse Oblige...” Nix snapped her fingers helplessly. “Where do I know that name?”

“Naginata and miasma on Ruby Avenue, in front of Patsy’s.” Her brother supplied.

“Oh right! Talked big but screamed like a piggy, right?”

“That’s the one!”

_“Ahem!”_  Attention was reluctantly returned to the lance-wielding stallion. “Are you all quite done yet, or can I proceed to save the day?”

“No, we are not!” Pilum stated exasperatedly. “A- _Prince_  Aristo,” He amended hastily when the royal began to get angry. “We told you to remain at the barracks. For your...  _protection...”_  The last bit was ground out between clenched teeth.

Arcus rolled his eyes and crossed his hooves. “Protection my back hoof-OOF!” He winced as his sister rammed her elbow into his gut.

Aristo sniffed arrogantly and turned his nose up. “Ah, but now it is I who is protecting you! For you see, this is no longer simply a matter of apprehending some pointless hooligans! Now, this involves a  _dragon!”_ He flashed Gladia a haughty grin. “Dearest Gladia, once I have disposed of this vile creature, what say that I take you out for a night upon the town?”

The general’s mouth twisted in a sickly facsimile of a smile. “I would be... _honored.”_  Her mortus rigtor smile dropped into a scowl the second the pomp looked away. “Honored to shove my blade up your ribcage...” She muttered venomously.

Rarity snorted in agreement, trotting up next to the general. “Save a piece for me, why don’t you?”

The white unicorn gave Rarity a semi-surprised look. “What, you’ve met him?”

“Close enough. Suffice to say that arrogance is genetic.”

“My condolences.”

_“Now then!”_  Aristo exclaimed, twirling the lance some more. “Prepare yourself, foul creature, to meet your demise!”

Seath stared at him bemusedly. “And why exactly should I do that?”

The stallion gaped in honest shock. “You foul  _beast!_  I am the mighty Prince Aristo! I have slain  _dozens_  of your foul kind, as effortlessly as felling wheat with a scythe!”

“That implies he’s been on a farm even a single time in his life.” Trixie muttered.

Gilda snorted. “Now  _that_  I find hard to believe.”

“You! Like all others! Shall fall before the might of my mighty  _Wurm-drapsmann!”_  Arcane lightning began to run up and down the lance, energy gathering in the jaw of the metallic dragon.

Seath’s fingers began to dig into his arm, his brow furrowing angrily. “Worm-killer.”

Aristo smirked arrogantly. “A simple name for a simple tool. Nothing too complex. Now then, Seath the  _Scaleless,_ shall we perform the usual song and dance of you trying pathetically to rage against destiny, or will you accept your fate upon my mantlepiece?”

Seath froze, staring at Aristo for a moment before slowly pulling his fangs back into a snarl.  _“What did you call me?”_  His voice was as frigid as the tundras.

Whether it was due to stupidity or bravery, Aristo ignored the life-threatening tone, smirking arrogantly. Or just plain smirking, it was hard to tell with him. “You heard me.”

Seath shook silently, an alabaster volcano just waiting to blow. And then... he went still, an eerie serenity falling over him. His jaws twisted into a rictus grin. “Well then...” He spread his arms wide, exposing his chest. “Take your best shot.”

“So be it!” The lance crackled furiously, magic filling the figure-head’s maw. It condensed to a single point and then unleashed in a bolt of magic. The projectile struck Seath square in the face, detonating in a massive, ear-shattering blast. Smoke and dust billowed up in a massive cloud.

Aristo threw his head back and guffawed gleefully. “HA! Once anew, the draconian form falls before my royal might! Now then!” He wheeled around to smirk at the Academics, his lance charging up again. “Prepare yourselves, miscreants, to face justice!”

The trio fell into ready positions, preparing to dodge the blast, but Scholar didn’t even flinch, smiling expectantly at the noble.

In the next second, he was satisfied.

“Allow me... to explain to you... where you went wrong...”

Prince Aristo gave a surprised yelp, snapping his head back towards the cloud.

The dust had settled revealing a very unharmed, very unmoved, and  _very_  irate dragon.

“B- I- how the-!?” Aristo stammered.

“Your  _first_  mistake...” Seath growled. “Was trying to use a  _magic_  blast to kill a dragon who has spent his entire life researching the arcane arts.  _Particularly!”_   The air before him flashed like a polished gem. “Barriers, wards, and all other defensive arts. A necessity considering my... condition.  _That_  was moronic.”

“I- but that’s-!”

“Your  _second_  mistake!” The dragon rumbled. “Was coming before me,  _reeking_  of the blood of innocent dragons. Some of whom couldn’t have been older than twenty-one.  _That_ was insensitive.”

Spike’s eyes widened as he turned to Twilight, “What’s he talking about? Equestrians don’t kill dragons... right?”

Twilight rubbed her shoulder uncomfortably, “Well... no... but a long time ago... there were some battles... it’s where Blueblood’s family got their fame. But... I didn’t know that it was so  _bad.”_

Pilum chewed his lip uneasily. “Normally it wasn’t, but Aristo and the word ‘restraint’ have been long estranged.”

Spike swallowed heavily, rubbing his neck uneasily.

“I- listen here you-!”

_“I AM NOT DONE TALKING!”_   Seath roared, forcing the pony to clamp his mouth shut. He breathed heavily for a second before continuing. “Your  _third_  mistake... was to threaten my friends... and my comrades in front of me. That... was just plain stupid.”

Aristo swallowed heavily, taking a hesitant step back from the dragon.

“And your  _final_  mistake...” Seath whispered harshly, leaning down to stare the pony in the eyes, despite lacking his own. “Was to call me. That.  _Name. That!”_  He hissed, drawing himself back up to his full height. “Was suicidal. Now, it’s time for you to, as they say, pay the piper.”

Aristo’s personality pulled a 180, his panicked expression morphing one into one of confidence. “Ha! Do your worst, worm! My armor is enchanted! Fire holds no threat for me!”

“Good for you.”

Seath reared his head back and whipped his head downwards, roaring furiously at the Prince. Instead of orange flames, a pure white mist flecked with crystal fragments billowed out of his jaws, cascading onto the pony’s form. Wherever the mist touched, jagged spires of crystal jutted from the ground like demonic teeth. When the barrage finally subsided, all that was left was a spiny diamond outline of the noble.

“Idiot.”

Rarity bit her lip uneasily as a flood of emotions ran through her. “Is it wrong for me to feel so happy?” She asked Gladia discretely.

The general shook her head, actively fighting to keep an overjoyed grin off her face. “If it’s wrong, I don’t want to be right. I’m seriously considering petitioning to make this day a national holiday!”

**-o-**

CRASH!

“OH NO!”

Fancy Pants silently thanked Celestia for the interruption to Blueblood’s seemingly unending tirade on... he’d lost track almost half an hour ago. He sighed heavily as he watched the pony gallop towards the mantlepiece. “What’s wrong  _now_ , Blueblood?” He asked, hoping to distract Blueblood from their previous conversation.

Luckily, the noble was entirely focused on the portrait that appeared to have slipped from it’s place on the wall and fallen to the ground, the glass in it’s frame shattering.

“Oh this is simply  _dreadful!”_  Blueblood lamented. “This is a portrait of  _my_  noble ancestor Prince Aristo! He was  _the_  greatest dragonslayer in all of Equestrian history! He disappeared over a thousand years ago, but I’m certain that he died honorably in battle!” He rambled on and on, extolling his ancestor’s ‘noble’ accomplishments.

Fancy Pants idly wondered if Fleur would forgive him for committing suicide. A glance at his darling wife told him that yes, she was thinking the same thing and they communicated in the language that only married couples knew.

_‘Do it at the same time darling? ‘_ Fleur raised a questioning eyebrow.

_‘Well, you could play the grieving widow and jump out the window...’_ Fancy Pants responded with a flickering, wry grin.

_‘Oh, but you’d be perfect as the wailing widower,’_  Fleur pouted.

_‘Doesn’t matter. The insufferable fop is going to kill us with his latest speech, and it’s not even time for tea,’_ Fancy Pants sighed and seconds later his wife joined him before nuzzling his neck supportively.

However, it seemed that fate was on their side. “This must surely be the fault of that new maid!” Blueblood exclaimed indignantly. “Oh, I _knew_  that hiring a pegasus was not a good idea! I’m going  _straight_  to Aunty and having her fired!” He galloped off out of the foyer, the dreaded sound of his voice crying out for ‘Aunty’ Celestia.

Fancy Pants smirked at his wife. He put his hoof at his throat and then yanked it away, sticking his tongue out and crossing his eyes.

Fleur giggle and lightly batted at his shoulder, “Oh you cad, stop it!” Her giggles increased as Fancy made a faux-choking noise before doing as she said, “Though in the mood the Princess has been in lately, that may just happen.”

Fancy Pants rolled his eyes as they left the room, “Blueblood dying? Nothing could wipe out that bloodline. That entire family is more cockroach than pony. Honestly, his ancestor, a dragonslayer?”

“More like dragon-slayed.” Fleur giggled again before Fancy Pants joined in.

“If there is any justice in this world.” He agreed.

**-o-**

“Now then...” Seath rumbled, runes wafting off of his arms as he held a hand over Aristo’s remains. “Allow me to demonstrate to you the difference between Equestrian justice and  _Vitrum_ justice.”

The runes wafted down from his hand, flowing into the statue, carving themselves into it’s hide. Slowly, it began to shake and judder, crags of translucent stone coming loose.

“In life, you were a nuisance and a threat. You made no contributions to society, or life in general. As such, justice has been served upon you. May your existence find purpose in death.”

The statue’s skin was now smooth as glass, taking on the form of an expressionless statue.

**“Rise.”**

CRACK!

To the shock of the Equestrians, the eyes of the statue snapped open, sockets filled with glowing magic. It then proceeded to flex it’s joints, resulting in the sound of grinding glass ringing out. The statue then reached out with a hoof and grabbed the lance.

To the surprise of the Equestrians, it then proceeded to rear back on it’s hind hooves, standing tall and proud. The statue swung the lance expertly around it’s body, ending by pointing it threateningly at the generals.

“Well... that’s not something you see everyday.” Shining Armor muttered uneasily.

Arcus and Sagitta snorted simultaneously.

“Speak for yourself.”

“These guys patrolled daily.”

“Used to play with kids at the parks.”

“And then proceed to beat the crap out of any felons unlucky enough to get in their way.”

“But it doesn’t change anything.” Pilum stated gruffly. “You might have gained a few extra pieces in the sick, twisted game you’re undoubtedly playing in your mind, but the situation is still clear: we have three separate armies on our side. Your lives are as good as forfeit.”

Scholar and Seath exchanged amused smirks. “Tell me, Seath,” the human inquired innocently. “Do  _you_  see four generals leading three armies?”

“Not at all, Scholar!” He responded. “All I see are four fools leading  _one_  army.”

“Indeed.” Scholar nodded. He smirked confidently at the Equestrians. “Two of those armies are ours.”

“Preposterous!” One of the armored ponies standing behind Gladia, a commander, protested. “We are the standing forces of the Equestrian state! We are willing to fight to the death to defend our nation’s honor! Isn’t that right men?” He addressed the soldiers standing behind him without turning around.

The two ponies saluted simultaneously. “Sir, no, sir!”

The commander nodded. “As I-!” He blinked as the answers registered with him. “Wait, wha-!?”

THUNK! SQUELCH!

“GRK!” The commander coughed and choked as blood filled his lungs. He jerkily turned his head around and stared in horror. The two ponies who had answered had proceeded to jam their spears in his sides. “Wh-why...!?” He stammered.

The pony on his left smirked mockingly. “Oh, I don’t know...” He mused, glancing at the stallion opposite him. “Well brother? Why would we perform such a heinous act?”

“Oh, I don’t know, brother.” The other stallion responded. “Here’s a thought!”

To the shock and horror of most of the onlookers, the stallions were engulfed in an inferno of emerald flames, leaving behind a pair of insectoid beings clad in obsidian armor.

“Maybe it’s because we’re not ponies!”

“Yeah, that works!” His opposite nodded. “But Lacewing, I’m confused on another matter!”

“What is it, Rotfang?”

“Well, why didn’t the rest of the army realize that we were fakes earlier and beat the ichor out of us?”

“That’s an easy one!”

The army behind them was engulfed in a sea of green.

“They’re not ponies either!”

Cadance made a sick choking sound as the flames fell away, revealing a standing army clad in glistening black armor. Multiple troops were in the air, buzzing around malevolently and leering at the armored Pegasi. There was no sign of any ponies, but Cadance noted with horror that several of the insects number were flecked with crimson blood.

“So brother, any other questions?”

“Mmm... nope! I think that’s everything. So brother, shall we end this fool?”

“Let’s!”

As one, the changelings yanked their spears out of the commander’s sides. The pony swayed uneasily on his hooves. They then twirled their spears around, aimed, and thrust.

SQUIRCH!

The Elements screamed in horror as the lances pierced straight through the back of the commander’s skull.

Rarity fell backwards in a dead faint and Fluttershy was barely able to swallow back the bile that rose in her throat.

Gladia stumbled backwards, staring in horror. “B-b-but-! M-my troops! M-my army! I-this is impossible, they were with me the entire time, when could you  _possibly-!?”_

“Oh  _please,_ General, it was easy!”

Cadance’s entire body locked up, her mind flooding with fear.  _‘No. Nonono. Not her. Not her, not her, anyone,_ anyone _but her!’_

But it was. The changeling swarm parted, allowing Queen Chrysalis in all her chitinous glory to  move to the front of the lines. She was covered head to toe in a set of blue-green armor.

Following along beside her and bouncing like a more insectoid version of Pinkie Pie was Chitter, giggling madly as his head jerked around almost at random, bandoliers of equipment and varying other devices strapped to his body.

Lacewing and Rotfang jerked their weapons out of the cadaver’s head, letting it fall to the ground as they snapped into crisp salutes, arrogant smirks still adorning their muzzles.

“After all,” She continued cockily. “We’re changelings. We would be disgraces to the name if we weren’t capable of replacing one, _measly_  army.”

“And getting here was easy too!” Lacewing added. “‘bout ten minutes ago, the old portal system came back online!”

“From there, we just swarmed through!” Rotfang continued. “Replacing your meatheads with ours was a snap thanks to Ol’ Boomer here!”

Chitter cackled madly in response, juggling an orb between his hooves. “Nap time for the bone heads! Hee hee hee!”

“And from there...” Chrysalis shrugged carelessly. “Child’s play. It’s amazing what a little hard work and elbow grease can do. Don’t you agree,” She smirked at the pink Alicorn. “Cadance?”

Cadance was unable to respond. All she could do was shiver in terror as she stared at the Changeling Queen.

Scholar sputtered indignantly. “Oh  _come on!_  With me, she uses the Dark Love, but with you she’s about ready to piss herself!? What gives!?”

Chrysalis chuckled malevolently, innocently examining her hoof tip. “Ah, now you see, that would be because of me. I  _may_  or may not have left one or ten post-hypnotic suggestions in her when I had her unconscious. Just a precaution, you understand.”

Scholar gaped at her in awe before groaning and slapping his face. “Oooooooh  _damn it!_  I had Luna dead to rights, I should have done the same thing! Crap, just goes to show how out of it I was. Still though, nice initiative!”

Seath chuckled, nodding appreciatively. “Indeed. Then again, I suppose this is why you’re  _Acentetus Mendacium,_  the Flawless Lie. None better at subterfuge than you, milady.”

Chrysalis chuckled coquettishly, covering her mouth with her hoof. “Oh Seath, you flatterer!”

Apparently not everyone was happy with the turn of events.

Shining Armor stamped his hoof on the ground furiously. “Leave my wife alone!” His horn flared furiously. “ _Now!”_

Chrysalis gave him an amused look. “Or what, boy-toy? You’ll crush me like you did that poor innocent vase?”

Shining Armor jerked forwards, but was held back by Arcus and Sagitta.

“Woah there, Captain!” Arcus warned. “Don’t be too hasty!”

“Yeah,” Sagitta nodded. “She likes you now, but one wrong move and you’ll be missing your frontal lobe.”

Shining Armor growled venomously, glaring daggers at the smirking changeling. “I can get her, I  _know_  I can.”

Arcus snorted. “That assumes that  _that_  is her.” He jerked his head at Chrysalis.

“Flawless Lie, remember?” Sagitta reminded him. “That’s  _never_  her.”

Shining Armor snorted furiously, but finally relented.

“Sooo...” Arcus asked quietly. “You and the Princess?”

“Yeah.” He gave the pegasus a cold look. “Why, is that a problem?”

The general’s sister shrugged. “Nah, just happy she found someone. She didn’t have one back then.”

The conversation was cut short by Pilum jabbing the two of them with the butt of his spear. He glared at them exasperatedly before facing forwards again. The soldiers got the hint, turning their attention back to the going-ons of the enemy.

All throughout the plaza, soldiers were facing off against the changeling soldiers. Some of the ponies encircled the insects and others got back to back as they themselves were instead surrounded.

“You might have an army, Scholar!” Pilum shouted defiantly. “But we still have two! My men are still loyal, and so are Arcus and Sagitta’s! We can still fight!”

The twins nodded in agreement. “Right!”

“Wrong!”

Pilum whipped his head around and stared into the defiant eyes of one of his own commanders. “Wha- Agate, what are you talking about!?”

The pony snorted furiously, whipping his helmet off his head. “Allow me to put this in terms you can understand,  _general.”_  

He hefted his spear up and shoved it straight in an adjacent soldier’s throat.

“I resign.”

“And so do I!” Another soldier shouted, rearing up on her hooves and snapping the neck of another in a single kick.

“And us!” A pair of pegasi concurred, grabbing a third by the wings and proceeding to...  _remove_ him from the sky. Violently.

All throughout the plaza, soldier after soldier turned on one another, slaying the ponies who thought they were comrades.

Pilum sputtered in horror. “I- w-what is this!?” He demanded.

“You want to know what this is,  _Pilum?”_  A voice rang out over the clamor. The Earth pony turned and gaped at a violet pegasus with a dark blue mane that was glaring at him.

“Amethyst Glitter?” He asked dumbly.

The mare swept her wing over the crowd. “Look around you, Pilum! Every soldier here who’s fighting, you know what they have in common? They were born  _here,_  in  _Vitrum!_  And every one, every last one of them, they enlisted for one purpose, and  _one_  purpose only! A purpose that goes back  _generation_  after  _generation!_ ”

Light flowed down her forelegs, runic tattoos charging with energy. Crystal’s sprouted from her limbs, coating them in a layer of lustrous armor.

“So that one day we could take our home  _back!”_   She screamed, lashing out with her hooves and blasting a nearby Pegasus with energy, taking a chunk out of his side.

All throughout the crowd, seemingly helpless civilians lashed out with ancient magic. Tattoos hidden by fur lit up, hidden weapons unfolded, and crystals sprung from the earth and the ponies. Sounds of fighting and yelling rang out not just from the plaza, but the city as a whole.

Cries of pain, and fear. Cries of success, and victory.

Sounds that could signify only one thing.

A revolution.

Finally, the clamor in the plaza died out. Silence reigned once anew, but now the tone was different. Now, the soldiers that remained were all outnumbered nearly three to one.

“Well, looks like that’s half of the troops from both your armies.” Seath stated smugly.

“Leaving you guys with one!” Nix shouted.

“And us with two! Booyah!” Null finished exuberantly.

“B-but how!?” Twilight stammered, dumbstruck by the turn of events. “How is this possible?”

“Because Vitrum never fell,  _Twilight!”_  Scholar shouted proudly. “Over a thousand years acting subservient, a thousand years under Celestia’s hoof, but not once did it fall!”

Trixie gasped as realization struck her. “The happiness...”

Scholar nodded in agreement. “You didn’t  _need_  to cast an illusion. The joy didn’t need to be forced. Why? Because almost every pony in this city was really, honestly,  _truly_  happy that the harmony would finally be gone.  _That_  joy was genuine!”

Rainbow Dash swallowed heavily as she leaned in close to Applejack. “Soooo... that bad feeling of yours?”

“Remind me, how many Crystal Ponies panicked when the Heart was destroyed?”

“Point taken.”

“But  _how?”_  Gladia demanded desperately. “How could they have organised so well, how could they know so much? How did their knowledge survive so long?”

_“It survived through me!”_   Seith roared furiously. “Though you bound my corporal form, my soul was still free to wander the earth! Every night, while you patrolled the streets, I reached out with my mind, and gathered the souls of my citizens, my charges, my wards. I taught them everything. I taught them of what once was. I told them of how things would one day be. Every time you captured one of ours, we mourned as one! And every time you failed, we celebrated! Though you might have believed you reigned supreme, that was only a facade to conceal the fact that  _we_  ruled,and  _we_  alone!”

“B-b-b-but...” Fluttershy stammered. “H-how could you have been in their dreams? P-princess Luna-!”

“Easy,” Scholar gloated smugly. “He had help. While he taught his citizens all he knew, another orchestrated a series of false dreams to fool Princess Ink-stain. An individual of immense talent, capable of creating a false world that could only be defined... as a work of art.”

Rarity chose that moment to regain consciousness. She groaned as she pressed a hoof to her forehead. “Oooohh... what did I miss?”

A nearby soldier was suddenly decapitated, leaving only a headless corpse with blood literally fountaining from the stump that was his neck.

Rarity stared in horror for a second before her eyes rolled up in her head and she keeled over.

Slowly, a figure faded into view behind the still standing corpse.

She was a female human, standing almost twelve feet tall. Her skin was extremely pale, and her long hair was as white as snow. Her body was cloaked in a robe that seemed to be made of white fur. Poking out of the back of her dress was a long, furry tail.

Clutched in her hands was a massive, pitch black scythe. The handle seemed to be carved from some kind of dark bone, and it fused with the wicked blade at the end. It was dripping with blood.

Scholar bowed once again. “I am glad to see you well, Lady Priscilla.”

The woman gave him a nod. “And I you, Lord Scholar.” She then turned and smiled kindly at Seath. “And you as well, father.”

_“Father!?”_  Iron Will gasped.

Seath’s jaws lifted into a sad smile. “As am I, daughter.”

_“Daughter!?”_  Gilda choked.

The minotaur and griffon exchanged looks of shock before mischievous smirks ran across their faces. But when they turned towards Scholar, anything they were about to say was cut off by the human’s hands clamping down on their windpipes.

“Listen here, and listen well,” Scholar hissed venomously, murder in his eyes. “Priscilla was one of Seath’s experiments a long time ago. She gained sentience while she was still incorporeal, so Seath designed a body for her. A  _humanoid_  body with some of his own DNA mixed in. Human _oid_ , do you hear me? Not  _human!_  There were a lot of humanoid species back then. If I hear so much as a single quip from either of you, I swear to  _Osiris_ that I will make you renew  _every_ book in the archives  _letter_ by  _letter,_  am I clear?”

The Magisters nodded jerkily, then wheezed for breath when he let go of them.

“You’re... an... ass...” Gilda wheezed.

“No, just exasperated.” He responded. “That joke ran it’s course a millennia ago.

Luckily, the attention was not on them, and was instead focused on the latest arrival.

Priscilla swept her gaze over the crowd idly, noting the terror present in the eyes of the soldiers. “Well now... I take it you all know who I am.”

An Earth Pony standing near her swallowed heavily, quaking in his greaves. “C-c-crossbreed Priscilla...”

THUNK!

“YEARGH!”

The pony screamed in pain as Priscilla’s scythe lodged itself squarely in the middle of his spine. Blood sprayed out of the wound around the blade.

Priscilla sighed in annoyance as she yanked her weapon out of his back. “I oh-so  _despise_ the fact that you mutated those unfortunate sobriquets and used them to turn us into boogeymen. Quite exasperating.”

Twilight whimpered miserably. She barely kept herself from vomiting as she watched the blood drain from the unfortunate soldier’s body. In an attempt to distance herself from the horror of the situation, she took a scientific view of the situation. “H-his blood...” She stammered.

“Hm?” Priscilla cocked an eyebrow inquiringly.

The lavender unicorn swallowed heavily. “Th-that pony’s blood... th-the wound isn’t that deep, wh-why is it d-doing that!?”

The woman smiled kindly. “Ah. An inquisitive mind. Allow me to indulge. It is thanks to an innate ability of mine: the Lifehunt.”

“L-Lifehunt?”

“Indeed.” Priscilla leaned down towards a nearby soldier who was paralyzed by fear. He tried to move, but froze when she reached out and began to stroke along his neck. “You see, my magic is... unique. It is... infectious, you might say. It seeps into any wound I might inflict...”

The pony winced in pain when she suddenly dragged a finger along his neck, leaving a minuscule cut showing through his fur.

“And makes it fatal.”

The soldier was nearly decapitated by the torrent of blood that gushed from his neck. He fell to the ground, gurgling on the life fluid.

“Any other questions?”

Twilight shook her head violently.

“Great!” Scholar exclaimed, clapping his hands together eagerly. “Now then, if that’s everything...” He narrowed his eyes viciously, grabbing his book out of the air. Runes flowed out around him, a vicious, nigh-deadly cloud. “What say we clean house?”

Queen Chrysalis cackled malevolently, a green aura engulfing her as her voice flanged even more than usual and her form flickered like an afterimage. “Yes, let’s show them what  _true_  power is!”

Seath gave out a predatory roar, waves of crystals erupting around him. Pristine white runes flowed around him in a blizzard of energy. “Let us educate these ignorami in the art of  _pain!”_

“HELL NO!”

“NOT A CHANCE!”

“Absolutely not!”

The three stumbled in shock, magic dissipating around them as they stared in shock at the individuals who had shouted.

“Wh- Nix, Null, what are you on about!?” Scholar stammered.

Chrysalis bared her fangs menacingly. “Lacewing. Rotfang. You have ten seconds to explain yourselves.”

“Priscilla?” Seath inquired in surprise. “What’s wrong?”

The Golems huffed angrily as they glared at their creator.

“If you three go all out, then what will  _we_  do!?” Nix demanded.

“Yeah!” Null concurred. “You’ll tear through them in ten seconds flat!”

“They’re right!” Lacewing concurred. “You and Scholar are  _Oligarchs!_ And Seath was always known as the unseated Oligarch!”

“These guys will be blown away with a flick of your pinkies!” Rotfang protested.

“And where will we be left, hm?” Priscilla demanded. “Nothing will be left for us! And who knows  _how_  long it will be until the next battle!”

Seath rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. “They...  _do_  have a point...”

Chrysalis sighed and rolled her eyes. “So in that case what do  _we_  do?”

“Hmmm...” Scholar scratched his chin contemplatively. He snapped his fingers as a thought hit him. “I got it! We’ll let them run rampant for about... eh, forty-five minutes or so. After that, we get involved!”

“I reiterate,” Chrysalis stated flatly. “What do we do?”

“Simple! We stay here. I need to talk to you guys about something. Plus...” He smirked at the Equestrians. “We’ll have some company.”

Before the Equestrians could react, he sent a flurry of runes at the group. Eight barriers of runes erupted around the Elements, Spike and Cadance.

“TWILY!” Shining Armor attacked the barrier with his magic. It went on for a minute before he was finally repulsed by a wave of glyphs.

“Shiny!” Twilight pounded futilely on the wall.

“Congratulations!” Scholar said with saccharine cheer. “You eight are  _officially_  our first P.O.W.s!”

Shining Armor whipped around and glared at Scholar. “Why you-!”

“Oh deal with it.” The Rune Keeper taunted. “And hey! Who knows? Maybe if you survive the forty-five minutes, We’ll let you live!”

Shining jerked forwards again, but was halted once anew by the pegasus generals.

“Don’t!” Arcus hissed. “He’s giving you a free pass!”

“I know it stings,” Sagitta growled. “But right now, you have the highest life expectancy of everyone present! Don’t throw that away!”

Shining Armor looked at them desperately. “But... my sister... Twily... Cadance...”

“Right now, Scholar wants them  _alive.”_

“That means they’re safer than they’ve ever been in their entire lives.”

The Captain of the Guard was silent for a second before sighing and relenting.

“Now!” Scholar repeated, raising his hand above his head. “Are we all ready?”

Priscilla gave the Twins an indulgent smile as she swung her scythe around. “So, Nix and Null, shall we work together as we did in the days of old?”

“Yup!” Nix agreed.

“Sound’s good!” Null concurred. “Just give us  _ooooone_  second.”

In an instant, the Golem’s demeanors changed. They went from cheerful and chipper to... disturbing.

Null held his hand opposite his sister out, conjuring a massive red blade.  _“Ready or no~ot...”_

Nix held her hand away from her brother, igniting it in a verdant blaze.  _“Here we co~ome...”_

Iron Will shuddered at their voices. “Damn those two can be creepy.”

Trixie gave him a deadpan look. “And  _she_  isn’t?” She asked, jerking her head at Gilda.

The griffon was twitching eagerly, running her tongue over her beak and clenching and unclenching her talons. “Come on, come on, let’s go, let’s go...”

Lacewing smirked at his brother. “I’ll take high, you take low?”

Rotfang smirked right back, bumping hooves with his twin. “We’re too fast, they’re too slow!”

Chitter leapt into the air, flailing his hooves madly. “LET’S GO ALREADY!” He cackled

Scholar brought his hand down.

“BEGIN!”

And the world went to Discord.


	16. The Crystal Rebellion

It was chaos, pure and simple, an insane melee filled with war-cries and shouted orders. Blood and ichor flew as metal and crystal dug into flesh and chitin, the air was a mess of brawling pegasi and changelings, and blasts of magic lanced across the battlefield.

Throughout the madness could be seen several distinct individuals who utterly dominated the combat they were involved in.

One of those individuals was a psychotic gold-armored griffon, her claws carving open flesh to allowing lancing arcs of lightning inside to cook vital organs and fluids, her screeches drowning out the screams of her enemies.

In her wake, corpses lay leaking boiling liquids and smoking organs, as she leapt atop a pegasus that had narrowly avoided a spear and before the stallion could anything, the griffon shoved a claw into his mouth and fired a bolt of lightning down his throat.

The effect was gruesome as the powerful blast of electricity boiled his brain and popped his eyes like a pair of wet balloons. Blood flowed out of every possible orifice as the griffon ripped out her gore-caked talons and tore through the skies, sending bolts of lightning down on any Equestrian that looked to be getting the upper hand over the Crystal Ponies.

Or, judging from the way she was cackling madly the whole time, more simply for the hell of it. “COME ON YOU BASTARDS!” She screeched, “COME AND GET ME!”

Another notable fighter was far more silent than his colleague. A minotaur, towering above the bloody melee, a great maul gripped in his hands. Every swing pulped flesh and bone, sending limp bodies flying, and every slam into the earth tore up great rents that somehow avoided Crystal Ponies and swallowed up Equestrians before closing up and entombing them.

Silent and imposing, the armoured giant’s cloven hoof lashed out in a kick that caught a charging Earth Pony on the chin, and with a sickeningly wet  _crack_ , the pony’s head went flying in a bloody arc as he turned and glared down at another pair of ponies, who turned and fled...right into the waiting spears of the Crystal Ponies.

A third warrior, a Unicorn in silver armor, rarely sullied her hooves, but was nonetheless an epicenter of death.

Literally.

All around her, the air shimmered with a silver fog, and when it touched the Equestrians, they turned on each other, dueling to the death. And through it all, the Unicorn trotted along, sidestepping blood-sprays and causing the odd fatal mistake. Occasionally, a Unicorn with a glowing horn or a visibly struggling Earth Pony or Pegasus would break out of the crowd and confront her, but every time, they would attack just to the side of her or their assault would fall just short. Then the Unicorn would casually sling her hoof around their throats and snap their necks like twigs.

Some of the conquering fighters were slightly less...  _hinged_  than the others.

“I’m si~ingin’ in the rain!” Lacewing chanted as he used his spear to pierce an Earth Pony’s exposed throat.

“Just si~ingin’ in the rain!” Rotfang continued in the same pitch, using his brother as a springboard to pierce a Unicorn from above.

They both fell into synch as they moved as one and jabbed their weapons upwards, impaling a passing Pegasus. “What a gl~orious feeling! We’re h~appy again!”

Meanwhile, a twitching and hopping Changeling was bouncing through the crowd, each bounce he made punctuated by an object flying off his being and into the crowd, producing a rather loud and violent explosion.

Chitter giggled as he went about his merry way. “Boom! Boom! Kaboom boom boom! Hee hee hee!”

“STOP!”

The Changeling blinked in surprise and planted his hooves in the ground when he suddenly found a sword pointed in his face, held in the magic of a badly singed Unicorn.

“You... killed... my brother...” The soldier grit out.

Chitter tilted his head in confusion. “So? I’ve killed lots of people. Some of them not even on purpose!”

The Unicorn snorted angrily. “Any last words you monster?”

Chitter gave a wide, honest smile as he nodded eagerly. “Yahuh!” Before the Unicorn could react, the changelings hooves whipped out and slammed into both his cheeks at once, forcing his jaw open. The Equestrian’s eyes then widened in abject panic when he felt something forced between his jaws.

Chitter leapt up and landed on the Unicorn’s snout, cackling madly as he went. “BOOM!”

The Unicorn’s head detonated, sending Chitter on a mad flight over the fray.

And finally, some of the fighters were more unique that could possibly be imagined.

Null lashed out his his hand, sending the tomahawk he held in his hand spiralling into the helmet and into the skull of an Earth Pony. He then flicked both his hands, producing a pair of blades which he then threw through the throats of a pair of Pegasi as they swooped away from him. This was then followed by a kusarigama, the scythe lashing out to dig into the base of a Unicorn’s neck, who was then pulled up by the chain and into several of her comrades.

Meanwhile, Nix sent out a ball of emerald fire to engulf a soldier as he tried to blindside a Crystal Pony. She continued by augmenting the ball with a blast of magic, turning it into an inferno that engulfed the two other Equestrians standing behind him. The golem then flew up and around a Pegasus, imbibing her hand with magic before shoving it clean through the Equestrians skull.

And finally, Priscilla did not so much wade through the battlefield as she did dance through it. Every step was precise and calculated. She spun the entire time, whirling about this way and that, her scythe in constant motion. Sometimes the wounds she inflicted were extravagant, decapitating and bisecting ponies, while others were minor, leaving them with little more than scratches. Either way, all damage she caused was fatal.

All of this occurred in less than three minutes.

The trio were a whirlwind of corporal devastation, blurs of red and green and white, leaving naught but death, damnation and pain in their wake. Weapons and magic flew through the air, maiming and crippling, while the bloodthirsty scythe simply sang the Reaper’s tune for all to hear as it flew through the air.

Scholar sighed nostalgically as he watched the war wage. “This,” He stated simply, gesturing out towards Gilda as she disemboweled a Pegasus. “This is what I’ve been missing, the action, the carnage, the thrill of battle! Yes, research is all well and good, but it’s at moments like these where we are pushed to our utter limits that we truly redefine ourselves, and see what we are capable of!”

Chrysalis chuckled heartily as she observed a changeling slit an Equestrian’s throat from out of the blue from a first-person view. “Waxing nostalgic, are you? Ah well, but who am I to speak. I’m enjoying it almost as much as you are! Remember that war between the Cryptlords we orchestrated so that we could uproot a good number of their conspiracies? Oh, that one went on for days!”

Seath let out a half-rumbling, half-grinding laugh as he contemplated his daughter removing the limbs from a pony in a few mere swings. “Ah, those were the days indeed. And it appears that the next generation is coming along just fine too! Truly, this is a beautiful day to be alive.”

Scholar nodded in agreement. “I concur wholeheartedly!” He turned his attention to the prisoner of the runic cage he was leaning against. “And what say you, Twilight?”

The lavender unicorn was far too busy emptying her stomach contents to respond. Her actions were being imitated by the rest of the Elements. Only Spike managed to withhold a violent reaction, and even then just barely, much to Seath’s shame.

The Rune Keeper raised an eyebrow at the vomit. “Well now, that’s unappetizing.” Turning to

face her fully, he sighed, “So, are you learning anything from all this? Do you understand now? This is not some kiddy story where all of the problems go away so your mother can tell a new story every night, this is real.” He waved a hand at the mess, and Twilight’s eyes followed it just in time to see a Crystal Pony’s corpse get stabbed over and over again by a maddened Royal Guard.

She turned away as Scholar saw a bolt of lightning turn the insane pony into a scorch mark as he continued, “This is a war, Twilight Sparkle, one that was delayed but was long in coming, because your mentor made mistakes that now cannot be forgiven or fixed by any way except by the destruction of all that she has built.”

He leaned closer, “And unfortunately for you, it is only going to get worse. You think this is bad? This is a walk in the park. All the forces of Concordia that Celestia tried to hide away are going to come roaring back with a never before seen fury, and not all of them will be on my side. And none of you can even hope to compete.”

Suddenly, a flash of pink magic drew his attention to the side. He blinked in surprise before raising an eyebrow. “Well,  _almost_ none of you anyways.”

Twilight followed his gaze uneasily and gasped in shock.

Shining Armor was in the full middle of the battlefield, flaring his magic energetically. He was a sight to behold. Shields flashed around him again and again, blasting away attack and attacker alike. He maneuvered his hooves expertly, making sure to clip enemies in  _just_  the right way to turn them away from him. He bore a few scratches, but was a faring far sight better than most others.

Chrysalis sniffed condescendingly, “I recognize those moves. They’re the same tactics that the Crystal Ponies used to use for riot suppression.” She cast a glance over her shoulder at the still paralyzed Cadance.  _“You_  must have taught him those. Hardly fitting on a battlefield, but he may survive yet.”

Scholar nodded sagely in agreement. “Indeed. See, Twilight Sparkle? This is war. And in war, people fight to their best. Hell, even those four Generals are-!” The human cut off as he glanced around, his searching becoming even more frantic as he failed to discern his targets. He snarled furiously and cast a glare up at Seath. “Where the hell did those traitors go!?”

The dragon craned his neck back, staring upwards as he hummed thoughtfully, a few runes flicking past his eyeless face. Finally, he nodded. “Pilum has rallied a squadron and taken to the Subarchives, Gladia is roaming Lucente, and Arcus and Sagitta are up amidst the Overloft.”

Scholar eyes darted back and forth behind his glasses as he searched his memories. “Anything compromising they can do?”

Seath shook his head definitively. “None. No weak points, no nodes, no escape. They act out of desperation.”

The human chewed his lip thoughtfully. “Maybe so, maybe so, but still... I’d rather they not be out there in the first place.”

“Shall I dispose of them?”

Scholar waved his hand dismissively. “No, no, we’ve still got forty more minutes on the clock. I’ve got a better idea.” He flipped his grimoire open with a hand, flicked to a page, and touched it with a finger, lighting the whole thing up in runes.

Almost simultaneously, runes appeared near the ears of Gilda, Trixie and Iron Will.

“Alright, listen up you three.” Scholar’s voice filtered out and over the din of combat. “The Generals have gone AWOL. Now, they can’t do us any harm, but better safe than sorry. They’re in the districts. Hunt them down and end them.”

Iron Will nodded definitively, turning and stomping towards the edge of the plaza. “Iron Will will find Pilum, and will see which of them is stronger.” And with that, he jumped over the edge, slamming his maul into the side of the crystal structure to slow his fall.

Trixie wheeled around and galloped up one of the bridges leading away from the Palace. “Trixie claims Gladia’s head. Skill-on-skill combat, as is appropriate.”

Gilda snorted, releasing the charred equine corpse she was clutching by the throat. “Guess that leaves the gruesome-twosome to me.” Her beak twisted into an eager smirk. “Perfect. I needed a challenge.” She flared her wings and took to the skies anew, this time soaring far higher than before, loosing bolts of lightning as she went.

Seath snorted as he watched the three depart. “So, you have faith in those three?”

Scholar folded his arms and nodded confidently. “Are you kidding? Those three are prodigies, pure and simple. Out of everyone present, us and the P.O.W.s excluded, they’re the most likely to survive. Well...” Scholar turned his head and glanced towards Shining Armor, watching as he caught one of Chitter’s stray bombs and redirected it upwards, where it detonated harmlessly. Well, as harmless as possible considering the current state of events. “Them and him I suppose.”

“Him!?” Chrysalis scoffed. “Please, that two-bit pomp is  _worthless._  Captain of the Guard? What’s the point of such a title if the ‘Guard’ doesn’t even qualify as competent?”

The Rune Keeper shrugged evenly. “In my opinion, it means he’s the only one who’s actually worth a damn in the whole lot. He’ll live.” He then winced when he saw the unicorn get clipped by a changeling hoof. “Maybe.”

“Hmm...” Queen Chrysalis hummed in thought as she tapped her chin, a cheeky grin playing across her chitinous lips. “Well now... care to make that a wager?”

Scholar blinked in surprise and gave her a befuddled look. “Clarify.”

Chrysalis waved her hoof airily. “Oh, it’s easy. I bet that by the end of the time limit, Shining Armor will be little more than a corpse on the pyre.”

“Hmmm...” Scholar grinned and looked upwards contemplatively. “Well now... in that case...” He stuck his hand out towards her. “I’ll put up five that he  _isn’t.”_

Chrysalis took his hand and shook it. “Make it seven.”

“Deal!”

“You too lunatics are betting fourteen lousy bits on my brother’s  _life!?”_  Twilight screeched in disbelief.

Scholar and Chrysalis gave each other disbelieving looks before bursting into laughter.

“F-fourteen bits!?” Chrysalis giggled.

“Puh-leeze!” The human chortled. “Give us some credit! When we Oligarchs make a bet, we bet  _big!_  That’s seven  _million_  standard credits apiece we’re putting up! Payable in either valuable metals, favors, or objects and information of sufficient worth.”

Twilight blinked in surprise. “Umm... well...” She shook her head and growled angrily at him. “That doesn’t change the fact that that’s my brother’s survival you’re betting on!”

Scholar shrugged helplessly. “Eh. We’re  immortals. When you’ve lived for so long, you take your excitement where you can get it. Besides...” He gave her a disbelieving look. “The heck can you do about it?”

The lavender unicorn grit her teeth and lit her horn up in response, putting as much force as she could behind a magical push.

The Rune Keeper merely raised his eyebrows before flexing his own arcane muscle. The runes composing her cage flared briefly before knocking Twilight on her rump.

“That’s what I thought. So, anyways, clock is starting now.”

“Perfect! Now then...” Chrysalis suddenly flapped her insectoid wings, rising up above Scholar to hover by Seath’s head. “Dearest Duke Seath...” She drawled in a tempting tone. “Would you be so kind as to aid one of your  _oldest_  and  _dearest_  friends in her pursuit of wealth and power?”

“ _What!?”_  Scholar protested. “Why you lying-”

The changeling matriarch cut him off with a childish raspberry. She then went back to giving the dragon a pleading look. “Well?”

Seath merely turned his head to give her a flat look, despite his lack of eyes. “Fifty percent of the prize.”

Chrysalis’s smile turned into a scowl. “Thirty-five and not a credit more. I’m the one who started this bet in the first place.”

“Forty-five.  _You_ asked for  _my_  help.” He raised an eyebrow questioningly. “Why is that anyways? For what reason do you require _my_  assistance?”

The Queen bore her fangs and growled angrily as she crossed her forelegs. “I’d order my hive to deal with the ponce myself, but they’re wrapped up in liberating  _your_ city. I’ll need your help if I’m to guarantee my prosperity.”

Seath snorted angrily. “And you think my citizens aren’t either? These damn soldiers aren’t cheap to go down, you know. I can’t spare any of them.”

Almost instantly, Chrysalis clasped her hooves together and pouted, the picture of cherubic benevolence. “Pleeeeeease? I’m just trying to ensure the wellbeing of my poor, innocent hive.”

The dragon renewed his flat look. “Endos has several caverns filled to the brim with silver, gold, and every valuable object in between. Most of which were acquired via swindling and cheating others. Me included!”

Chrysalis dropped the act and snorted in frustration. “Do you want the credits or don’t you?”

Seath scratched his chin contemplatively before slowly gaining a smirk. “Now that I think about it... there is  _one_  option...” He raised a massive hand and snapped his fingers, producing a medium-sized array that flashed before disappearing.

Meanwhile, Shining Armor was straining visibly as he kept a shield conjured, utilizing it to hold back the crystal broadsword of a particularly large rebel.

Suddenly, a shadow falling over him drew his attention upwards. Shining Armor spared a glance upwards before widening his eyes in panic.

Relying on his old training, he pushed back on his forelegs the same instant his back legs kicked, the white unicorn performing an graceful hop that drew him back seconds before a lance impaled the space he had been occupying moments before, landing on all fours. His legs were spread evenly, prepared either to charge or to block.

Slowly, with a great amount of cracking and grinding, the statue that was once Prince Aristo withdrew its lance from the ground, swinging it around in a grand sweeping flourish before pointing its dragon-shaped tipped at Shining Armor.

Seath let loose a rumbling chuckle as he crossed his arms pridefully. “How’s  _that_  for service?”

Chrysalis gave an appreciative whistle as the two started to square off. “Oh yes, you’ve  _earned_  that forty percent.”

“Yes, I have earned my forty _-five_  percent.”

“Drat.”

Shining breathed heavily as he and the statue faced off. “Alright...” He growled under his breath. “You want me?”

Lightning began to crackle up and down the construct’s lance in response.

“So be it...” His horn shone pink as he prepared to cast a new shield. “Come and get me!”

The energy coalesced at the tip of the spear, and prepared to blast at the unicorn. In three... two...

_“Look out!”_

Suddenly, Shining Armor was tackled out of nowhere, taking him out of the diamond lancer’s line of sight and forcing it to cancel its attack.

Shining Armor shook his head as he tried to reorient himself. He found himself clutched in the white aura of an Equestrian soldier’s magic, being dragged down a flight of stairs and away from the battlefield. “Hey! What do you think you’re doing!?” He tried to struggle, but was rewarded with a hoof upside the back of his head.

“Saving your life!” The soldier huffed before setting the other unicorn down. “Now hurry up and run!”

“But!” Shining Armor stared desperately at the runic cages containing the Oligarch’s prisoners. “Cadance-!”

“Is alive!” The soldier interrupted. “Which is something you  _won’t_ be if that Gem Custodian catches us! And unless the princess is into some  _seriously_  weird stuff, I’m fairly certain she wants you with a beating heart! Now  _hurry!”_

 

Shining Armor gave the battlefield a final, mournful look before galloping after the soldier.

Seath scowled furiously, raising a claw to point in their direction.  **“After them, you fool!”**  He ordered, his voice layered with violent magic.

The crystal remains of Aristo acted briskly, darting through the throngs of fighters in the direction indicated, occasionally stabbing or blasting Equestrians as it went.

Scholar growled as he watched the construct give chase. “You slippery sons of- two can play at that game!” He brought his fingers to his lips and whistled loudly. “ _Nix! Null!”_

The lethal blurs came to a sudden halt, Null holding a soldier up with a pair of foot-long hand claws and Nix impaling one with an aetherial blade. “Yeah?” They called out.

“Tail Shining Armor and keep his ass in one piece!”

_“WHAT!?!”_  They cried in shock, the red one airing his struggling target’s chest cavity when he jerked his claws to the side and the green one all but blowing the back of hers off in a magical detonation. “Are you  _nuts!?”_

“Less lip, more moving!” Scholar bellowed. “Hurry the hell up, I’ve got a fortune riding on that stallion!”

The twins growled indignantly for a moment before wheeling around and darting away into the city.

“Cheater.” Chrysalis pouted.

“Oh cram it up your abdomen.” The human groused. “You’re the ones who started it!”

Seath sighed and moved his head in a direction similar to another being rolling their eyes as the two started to bicker and snipe at each other. “Here we go again...” He muttered under his breath.

Nonetheless, nothing could hide the shifting of his lipless fangs. One might have been able to say that the dragon was smirking as he turned his head towards one part of the city.

Seconds later, an explosion erupted from deep within the Subarchives.


	17. Faceoffs and Showdowns and Duels, Oh My!

Pilum growled angrily as he slid on his hooves across the floor, barely dodging the spikes of crystal as they erupted around him. Finally, he wheeled around to face the minotaur that was attacking him, utterly unscathed.

The same however, could not be said of the soldiers that had followed him.

Everywhere the General looked, their corpses lay strewn about the cavern, either whole or in multiple pieces. Some were impaled on crystal spikes and fallen stalactites while others had portions of their bodies either caved in or simply ripped off.

“Credit given where credit’s due,” Pilum snarled. “You’re more skilled than you look.”

Iron Will snorted as he tapped the club in his hand. “Please. Iron Will and his friends were the ones who busted Scholar out of Tartarus. Do you  _really_  think you can beat me?”

“Who knows...” The General muttered. Slowly, he reached a hoof into his armor and withdrew a foot-long cylinder. Then with a flick of his hoof, the cylinder extended in both directions so that it transformed into six feet of rune-engraved metal. Topped at both ends with glowing magical blades.

With an expertise only achievable through years of practice, the Earth Pony swung the staff around his body in a precise controlled manner, carving a path of light through the air before finally slamming the blade into the ground before him. “Let’s find out.”

Iron Will gave a roar of fury as he and Pilum charged at each other. The minotaur swung his club in from the left, intent on taking his opponent’s head clean off his shoulders. However, the plan failed when his weapon was halted dead in its tracks by the spear.

The bronze-armored minotaur snorted furiously as he leaned in until he was face-to-face with the pony. “That’s... impressive...” He grunted as he struggled to overcome his adversary.

Pilum grit his teeth as he pushed back with his spear. “Runes... don’t underestimate them...”

Iron Will growled as he grit his teeth. “Well... in that case... don’t... underestimate... _Iron Will!”_  He raised his hoof and slammed it hard into the ground, shaking the whole of the cavern.

Pilum’s eyes shot wide open in shock before he jerked backwards, a falling stalactite suddenly entering the space he once occupied and obscuring him from sight.

Iron Will breathed heavily as he leaned forwards and rested on his mace. “How’s that?” He asked himself quietly.

“You’re not bad.”

Iron Will’s eyes shot wide open in shock upon receiving an answer. He tried to move in any direction, to dodge...

SHNKT! 

In vain.

“But I’m better.”

“RAGH!” Iron Will roared in pain as he whipped his free hand to his left shoulder, where the General’s spear had torn through his armor and punctured his flesh, right after thrusting straight through the stalactite.

“Y-you-!”

“You put up a hell of a fight,” Pilum admitted begrudgingly through the barrier of crystal. “But at the end of the day, all it takes is one unlucky move. I respect you Iron Will, and that’s why I’m not asking for your surrender. That answer’s obvious enough. Any final words?”

The minotaur panted heavily, his breath labored from the pain, before he glared at Pilum straight in the eyes through the semi-translucent stalactite. “Yes...”

Before the general could react, he jerked his left hand, passing his club’s handle from his left to his right.

“Iron Will is  _not_  left-handed.”

Pilum reacted instantly, hastily withdrawing his spear from Iron Will and backpedaling, narrowly missing the backhanded swing of the club that reduced the stalactite to slivers of crystal.

“That gambit was old a thousand years ago!” The pony general shot back, hastily dodging left and right as he narrowly avoided the flurry of mace swings that dogged him wherever he went.

“Iron! Will! Decided! To! Bring! It! BACK!” The minotaur bellowed, punctuating each word with a quake-inducing smash of his club. “Now! Hold! STI-GAH!”

Iron Will’s rampage was cut off by Pilum suddenly dodging to the side, resulting in the Magister slamming head long into a hitherto unnoticed wall. He tried to push off it, but...

SHIRK!

“GAH! STOP DOING THAT!”

Pilum panted heavily as he stood behind Iron Will, pinning him to the wall with his lance through his right shoulder. “Thousand years and things barely change. Once a minotaur gets going, he never stops. That was true then, and it’s still true now. Well, enough playing around.” He tensed, preparing to swing his weapon and cleave his opponent to pieces. “Time to die.”

The Mountain Shaker twisted his head around, just enough to glance back at Pilum and shoot him a blood-thirsty smirk. “Iron Will agrees!”

“Wh-!?”

CRASH!

Time seemed to freeze for Pilum as he tried in vain to process what had just happened. Slowly, it started to dawn on him as blood began to fill his mouth and pain radiated from his abdomen.

“B-b-but...” The general slowly turned his head and stared in numb horror at the spike of crystal that had run him through. “H-how...” He let his grip on his weapon go slack, allowing its butt to slip from his hooves and clatter to the ground as he looked back at Iron Will.

All Pilum could do was stare at the hand that was buried in the crystal wall.

The  _left_  hand.

“Y-you said... that you weren’t... left-handed...”

“Iron Will did say that,” The minotaur grunted as he removed his hand from the wall and reached over his back to wrench the weapon from his shoulder. “And Iron Will didn’t lie. Iron Will isn’t left-handed. Iron Will is ambidextrous.”

Pilum blinked slowly before giving out a slow, bloody chuckle. “Heh... heh heh heh... I guess... things really have changed... I’m just... behind the times... heh heh... heh...”

And with that, Pilum, the great Earth Pony General died.

Iron Will gave the pony a final nod of respect as he walked away. “It’s like you said general.” He looked ahead, gazing grimly into the expanse of crystals before him.

“All it takes is one unlucky move.”

And with that, Iron Will left the caverns.

Unseen to him, a faint light was glowing from within Pilum’s chestplate.

**-o-**

Seath tilted his head slightly, staring blindly at nothing. “Well, that’s that then, isn’t it?”

“Hm?” Scholar glanced up from the Lexicon at his draconic ally. “What is it?”

“Oh, nothing, nothing...” The dragon scholar waved him off idly. “It’s just that Iron Will dispatched Pilum is all, it’s not important. What _is_  important...” He jabbed a finger at a part of the page Scholar had opened up to. “Is fixing  _that!”_

“That!?” Scholar protested indignantly, taking in the line indicated. “What’s wrong with that!?”

Chrysalis looked over his shoulder and snorted in disgust. “What  _isn’t?!_  The tone is atrocious, far too pompous, the vocabulary is most definitely archaic, most likely because you’ve been skipping my reports  _again,_  and as for the  _pacing..._  eurgh!” She covered her mouth with her hoof. “I think I might be sick.”

The Rune Keeper gave the insectoid matriarch a scathing look. “Alright then, Windy Churchill! What would  _you_  suggest!?”

“Well, for starters...”

And with that, the Oligarchs and Duke started debating back and forth over the offending passage.

Meanwhile, sealed in their runic prisons, six ponies tried their best to keep their spirits up.

Pinkie Pie’s cell was filled with a flurry of paper that she had pulled from  _somewhere_ , the party pony’s view of the battle obscured by her hastily written out plans for a citywide victory party. Judging from the half-manic way she was scribbling and muttering to herself, her heart just wasn’t in it. If anything, she was just doing it so as to have anything  _else_  to do, other than watch the fight. “Buffet table here, fireworks here, dance party over there... Wait, would the Princesses prefer three cakes, each their own flavor, or one giant uber cake all mixed up? Hmm...”

Rarity was a bit more... frantic, flipping between lamenting and sobbing over the Crystal Heart’s destruction and exulting over the city’s revival as a whole. She seemed to be refusing to acknowledge that any violence was taking place anywhere near her. “Oh, the Heart,  _the Heart!_  Such a beautiful thing! Gone!  _Gone!_  Oh, but how that spire just seems to  _glisten_  in the sunlight! _”_  Rarity’s eye twitched violently as what appeared to be the remains of a severed wing slammed into the side of her cage. “Yes... it just...  _glistens.”_

Rainbow Dash growled furiously as she rammed her shoulder into her cage’s wall repeatedly. “Come on, let me out,  _let me out!”_  She repeated over and over, panting from the strain.

“Settle down, Dashie.” Applejack groused from her cage next to the Pegasus’s. She was leaning against the side of her prison, her hat tilted down over her eyes as though she was simply snoozing against an apple tree. “Besides, what do ya think ya’ll do once you get out?”

Dash snorted and pawed at the crystal ground restlessly with her hoof. “I-I’ll fight! I-!”

“You’ll  _die.”_  Applejack froze her friend with a simple statement. “Look around. We’re outclassed. The only reason we ain’t bit the big one yet is ‘cause Scholar’s protectin’ us. If it weren’t fer that, we’d be cooked worse than a snowmare on a summer beach.”

“But...!” The blue Pegasus grimaced and ruffled her feathers uneasily, watching the dogfight going on above the plaza. “I... I want... I _need_  to do  _something!_ I can’t just sit around doing nothing!”

“We ain’t doin’ nothin’, Dash.” Applejack muttered as she shifted her shoulders a bit. “We’re restin’. Conservin’ our strength. Gotta wait for the right time. ‘Till then... we just wait.”

Rainbow Dash bit her lip uneasily before folding her legs and sitting down, her wings twitching nervously. “I... ergh... don’t know if I’ll be able to stay like this. I’m not used to waiting.”

“Speak for yourself. I’m a farmer. Waitin’ for the harvest is second nature.”

The Pegasus grumbled as she adjusted her position, trying to get comfortable.

Fluttershy was in a similar position as Applejack, her wings wrapped around her body. Her eyes were scrunched shut and her hooves were kneading her temples ceaselessly. “It’s just feeding day, there’s no need to panic, it’s just feeding day, there’s no need to panic, it’s just feeding day, there’s no need to panic...” She muttered to herself calmly and consistently. The wet slam of a body landing mere feet from her caused her to shudder and curl in on herself a bit. “Feeding day, feeding day, feeding day,  _feeding day!”_

And finally, the last of the Elements was flashing her horn, trying desperately to teleport, disrupt the cage’s walls, anything and everything she could conceive of to escape. But to no avail. “Come on, come on...” She pleaded helplessly, her horn erratically sparking out flashes of magic. “Please work,  _please!”_

“Enough, Twilight...”

Twilight’s eyes snapped open as she jerked her head to the side in shock. “Cadance!” She cried, pressing herself up against the side of her prison closest to her old foalsitter. “You’re alright!”

The pink Alicorn flashed her a shaky smile. “Barely,” she turned her head and glared tiredly at Chrysalis. “Seeing how  _she_  isn’t focusing on me right now, the effects of the mindset she set up are being... lessened. I... I can’t concentrate enough to use my magic, but at least I’m coherent now. Ergh...” Cadance kneaded her forehead in frustration. “I should have searched my psyche the second I was alone even for an instant with her, it was a rookie mistake. But... then again...” She let out a shaky laugh. “I suppose she would have blocked any notion of that as well. Classic Chrysalis, always playing her enemies like puppets.”

“C-Cadance!” Twilight protested. “We need to get out of here, Shining-!”

“Shiny will be  _fine,_  Twilight.” Cadance reassured hastily. “I know it seems like hell out there, but Shiny will be just fine. I... Celestia and I taught him a lot of old moves from Concordia, old magic, and if I remember that soldier that saved him correctly, he has a good amount of help. Factor in the Twins and, well...” She shrugged casually. “He might as well be untouchable.”

The lavender Unicorn frowned dryly at Cadance. “You think it’s safe to trust the two psychotic golems who have threatened to cook me alive twice in the past with my brother and your husband’s safety?”

The Princess snorted lightly and waved her concerns away. “These are two entirely different situations.”

“How?!”

“The difference is their orders. Right now? Scholar ordered them to protect Shining Armor. And the fact is? They weren’t kidding when they called themselves the Right Hands of God. Any orders Scholar gave, they followed them both to the letter and to the spirit of it straight to the end, regardless of their personal feelings. Once Scholar gives them a mission, they’ll complete it come hell or high water.”

“Oh... so the reason that they threatened me like that-”

“They just flat out didn’t like you.”

“Well  _that’s_  reassuring.”

“Still, they wouldn’t have really done it.” Cadance cast a longing look at Scholar, Chrysalis and Seath. “None of them would have. When you get right down to it, Twilight? You and your friends and most other Equestrians are innocent. None of you have blood on your hooves. But the rest of us...” She sighed heavily. “We aren’t that lucky. You’re safe. We’re doomed.” She gave Twilight a pleading look. “Twilight... there’s no way out. Just... follow your friend’s examples. Rest. We’re going to need our energy for whatever comes next.”

Twilight worked her jaw silently for a second before bowing her head and sitting down. Pressing herself as close to Cadance as she could, a move which her sister-in-law reciprocated.

While all this was happening, Scholar’s final prisoner was staring silently through the runic walls of his prison, watching the battle play out before him.

Spike was afraid. Actually, afraid was an understatement. As he watched the blood fly, ponies falling on each other and ruthlessly kill one another, Spike was  _terrified._

But not by the fighting. No, Spike had read plenty of mature fantasy novels while he lived in Canterlot, he’d watched the Guard train. To an extent, he was desensitized to violence. The fighting didn’t necessarily scare him.

What scared him was that as Spike watched the battle play out, as he watched weapons clash and soldiers fight for their lives, he felt something.

A feeling, a tiny niggly feeling, right in the pit of his stomach.

It was a feeling he’d felt multiple times over his life, all about very specific things. And the fact that he was feeling it now?

It meant that his mind was processing the fierce combat in front of him, taking it all in...

_And finding that he_ liked _it._

**-o-**

Trixie huffed tiredly, her shoulders and legs shaking from exhaustion.

“Come on!”

The blue Unicorn’s head snapped up, her face set in a scowl.

“Is that the best you got?” Gladia taunted casually, flipping a pair of curving, mirrored scimitars with rune-encrusted blades around in her mint-green magic’s grip.

Trixie let out a feral growl before charging straight at the General. As she ran, her horn flared briefly with her magic, a shining blue rapier materializing directly above her.

The Unicorn General snorted dispassionately at her approaching enemy. “Obviously it is.” And with finely trained ease and grace, she sidestepped the haphazard charge. She then went into action with her swords. One of the scimitars caught the descending rapier mid-swing, slicing straight through it and shattering it to pieces. The other...

“GAH!” Trixie grunted in pain, stumbling as the blade nicked her rear leg, matching the numerous other gashes and injuries she was sporting. She tried to stop herself, but ended up running into the ring of soldiers surrounding her and Gladia. Two of them caught her on the flats of their blades before roughly tossing her back into middle of the clearing.

The white-coated Unicorn snorted despondently at her blue counterpart. “Honestly, now I’ve been using swords since before you were- er... For longer than you’ve been alive. Did you  _honestly_  think that you could beat me in a straight up fight?”

Trixie gave her a scathing look before lighting up her horn. The air around her started to shimmer with a silver mist...

Right up until Gladia’s own horn flashed in a pulse of green light, dispersing the mist and causing Trixie to cry out in pain.

“And that won’t work either.” She continued in a bored voice. “Your skills with magic are admirable, but my ability to cut through anything, even magic, far surpasses your own. So, no tricking my men, to tricking me. The only magic you can use is that semi-passable conjuration trick. Other than that...”

Trixie gave a shriek of rage before charging at Gladia once more, her rapier rematerializing as she launched a flurry of jabbing strikes at the General.

Gladia dodged every one of them, weaving back and forth between the stabs as though she herself were made of water. “See, let me explain a bit about my past to you.” She stated casually. “My whole life, I trained to be a guard. I joined up when I was sixteen and served as per usual. I was trained by the elite of not only the Equestrian military, but Concordian in general. I went from swordmaster to swordmaster, learning their arts, their skills, and whatever else they had to offer. I am the  _epitome_  of that era’s warriors could achieve.  _That_  is what I am capable of. The fact that you’re still alive?”

She suddenly moved, her scimitars both becoming blurs of green and silver. Moments later, The rapier shattered and Trixie was sporting a slash straight across her muzzle.

“It’s because I’ve let you live. After all, I needed to do  _something_ to pass the time.”

Gladia rolled her neck, blades twirling around her in a complicated dance, circling the other unicorn with a cool expression on her face, “But then, your death is inevitable. Just like the failing of your group’s little rebellion. Celestia and Luna  _won_ , and the last gasp of a dead empire isn’t going to change a thing. Honestly...” She trotted up to the illusionist’s prone form. “I can appreciate conviction, but right now? Give up. I’m sure that the Princesses would be lenient towards- GAH!”

The General gave a shriek of pain as the rapier once again reappeared, this time slicing straight across her eye and leaving a  _nasty_ gash before she could react. Her reaction was swift and sudden as she took ahold of Trixie’s throat and slammed her into the ground.

Gladia huffed angrily, swiping a forehoof across her brow. She stared at the blood on her fur numbly for a moment before sending an acidic glare at the blue Unicorn. “I... on the other hand... am feeling  _no_  such leniency. In fact... I’m feeling rather...  _acrimonious.”_

Before Trixie could get to her hooves, Gladia held her up by her throat with magic. “Trixie... Lulamoon, did you say it was? Under my authority as a General of the Equestrian State, I hereby charge you with High Treason against the crown. The punishment is death, may you find peace in the afterlife.”

And with that, both the scimitars swung, blood sprayed into the air, and a head thumped against the ground.

Gladia breathed heavily for a moment before sighing despondently. She brushed away a strand of her mane before turning around and starting to walk away. “That’s that. Too bad, she was fairly competent too. Ah well. What’s done is done. Come on men let’s hurry, we’ve only got about thirty minutes left until Scholar blows us all to kingdom c-!”

SCHLICK!

“-URK!” Gladia blinked blearily, coughing up a glob of saliva and blood, trying to come to terms with what had just happened. Her magic flickered out, causing her scimitars to drop to the ground in a clatter of metal. She slowly looked around, taking in the unbelievable facts.

Namely, the fact that her men had all approached her and proceeded to stab her in multiple painful, yet not immediately lethal areas.

“Wh-why...?” Gladia trailed off in horror as she caught sight of their eyes.

Of the silver sheen within.

She slowly turned her eyes, gasping in horror when she saw that the illusionist’s body had disappeared, blood pool and all. “I-imp-”

“Impossible? Pah! Fool!”

Gladia whipped her head around and stared in shock at the Prim and Pristine Trixie as she smirked confidently at the General.

“Honestly now...” Trixie shook her head in disappointment. “Trixie is surprised at you, Gladia! You, who lived in the world of _Concordia,_  still see that word as having any form of meaning? Truly, truly shocking.”

“B-but...” Gladia coughed up another burst of blood. “How? T-there was no magic o-or...”

Trixie snorted in disgust.  _“Please._  Trixie managed to fool  _Cerberus,_ do you really think you can surpass  _him?_  Essentially, you can’t cut what you can’t see, so Trixie was able to ensorcel both you and your remaining soldiers with ease.”

“But...” Gladia wheezed, wincing as she felt what  _had_  to be a punctured lung. “H-how... how did... I  _cut_  you... I-I-I  _cut_  you... I felt it...”

“Oh, yes, that.” Trixie waved her hoof airily. “See, there are three kinds of illusions: mental illusions which affect one’s mind, mirage illusions which are the basic smoke and mirrors... and  _conjured_  illusions. Meaning the sword spell I used, only far more refined. Observe!”

Trixie’s horn glowed blue for a minute. Then the space next to her erupted in silver light and an exact duplicate of her was standing beside her, wearing the exact same cocky grin.

“You see?” The doppelganger asked, flourishing her cape.

“It’s easy!” The original flourished her own in a mirror move.

The two then threw their hooves over each other’s shoulders and threw their heads back in a hearty laugh. “HAHAHA!”

“I...” Gladia worked her jaw uselessly. “W-why? Y-y-you could have... have killed me... at any time... why... why just... play this charade?”

Almost instantly, the Trixie’s moods sobered and the duplicate was dispelled. “Why?” She asked with a sickly sweet false smile. “I’ll tell you why. You see... even after you disappeared along with Vitrum, the legends of your prowess became quite renowned. So many old tales and rumors of Gladia the swordsmistress. So Trixie thought to herself, why not put her in a situation to show off? A way Trixie could just sit back, relax, and take in your moves.”

Suddenly, she dashed up to Gladia, grabbing her by the throat with her hoof. “Because you see...” She snarled darkly. “That is what _Trixie’s_  past was like. Trixie never had any masters, or disciplines to teach her. No, Trixie had to scrimp and scratch by. She had to learn through observation alone, through what she could pick up here and there. You might  _think_  that yours was a hard life that you did a lot to earn your strength, and who knows? You might even be right. But you are nothing,  _nothing!_  Compared to the Academia!”

Gladia’s only response was a gurgle of pain.

Trixie dropped her hoof and looked away solemnly. Then her eyes landed on the scimitars lying on the crystal floor. She slowly reached a hoof out towards them... then hissed in pain when a spark of magic leapt out to greet her. She muttered vehemently, flashing her horn several shades of silver before finally picking them up with her magic and examining them closely. “Impressive...” Trixie muttered begrudgingly. “Runes to enhance the edge, resist wear and tear... truly works of art. Trixie will be keeping them. Now then...”

She slowly turned her head to stare coldly at Gladia. “How did it go again?”

The Unicorn General shook and shuddered, trying in vain to escape her soldier’s swords before finally hanging her head in despair.

“Ah yes...” Slowly, the scimitars rose up above her. “Gladia Steelblade, under my authority as a Magister of the the Academia Arcana, I hereby charge you with High Treason against the Concordian Empire and crimes against sapient life. The punishment is death.”

The blades fell, blood sprayed, and a head hit the ground.

“May you burn in hell.”

Trixie stared morosely at the General’s headless corpse for a moment before turning around and trotting away.

She went a few yards before stopping and slapping her forehead with her hoof. “Almost forgot!” She turned around and gave the remaining soldiers a cocky grin. “At ease, boys!”

The Equestrians saluted her wordlessly with their swords across their throats.

Trixie chuckled morbidly to herself as she began trotting towards a nearby staircase, away from the bloody platform that the duel had taken place on. A once clear shining crystalline platform, now stained crimson.

She never noticed the glow that lit up Gladia’s armor.

**-o-**

Seath blinked in surprise, halting mid speech.

Scholar raised an eyebrow at the blind dragon. “Someone else bite it?”

“Hm? Oh, yes, yes. The unicorn, Lulamoon? She just liquidized Gladia.”

“Oh, good for her now! Now then, what about-  _wait, what the heck!?”_  Scholar blinked in shock as he whipped his head around and stared at the plaza around him.

What had once been a roaring battlefield was now practically a no man’s land, with bodies lying everywhere, some dead, others only just alive. A number of crystal ponies were picking through the plaza, some carting off the corpses, others administrating healing to those who needed it. And others...

“We got a runner!”

“Ten credits say I hit him.”

“Fifteen say you don’t.”

“Deal! And here... we... GO! Aaaaaaand...”

THUNK!

“YEARGH!”

“Yes!”

“Lucky shot.”

“Heeheehee! Nice goin’! That was fun! That was fun!”

“Indeed. Quite the admirable toss.”

Rotfang, Lacewing, Chitter and Priscilla were occupied with a... different form of clean-up duty.

“Where’d everyone go!?” Scholar demanded incredulously.

Chrysalis slapped him upside the back of his head with her hoof, her face set in a bored expression. “They left. The fighting spread out to the rest of the city. Try and look up once in a while, will you? After all, that’s how you got those train marks on your-”

“I keep telling you that was a deliberate act of sabotage!”

“Oh, like the time when somebody ‘sabotaged’ the month-old sandwich you swallowed without even looking at it?”

“Why you-!”

“Er... excuse me...?”

_“WHAT!?”_  Scholar and Chrysalis screeched, whipping around towards the speaker and causing the Pegasus to flinch back in fear.

The two breathed heavily, staring down the unfortunate messenger and causing her to sweat fearfully...

SMASH!

Right until one of Seath’s crystal-encrusted tentacles slammed down on the two Oligarchs.

“Stop frightening my citizens.” The dragon growled.

“The pain...” The two groaned out simultaneously.

Seath gave out a rumbling mix of a sigh and a groan. “Ladies and gentlemen, the hope for a free world.” He refocused his attention on the Pegasus. “Amethyst Glitter. Report.”

The violet pony blinked blearily for a second before hastily snapping a salute. “Uhh... right! Report! So far we’ve managed to clear most of the central plaza of the enemy presence and our sweeping should remove any other stragglers-”

“Excuse me, traitor, but are you still alive?”

“...”

“He blinked!”

THWACK!

“Wow, Pricilla, that one got good air!”

“Why thank you, Rotfang.”

“Momentarily...” The Pegasus swallowed heavily as she tried to keep her disgust from showing on her face.

“Alright then!” Scholar jumped to his feet and clapped his hands together eagerly. “Now... gather up everyone you can and take them out into the city. Run support, gather up the dead, protect the civilians, so on and so forth.”

“ROTFANG! LACEWING! CHITTER!” An equally rejuvenated Chrysalis ordered.

“Priscilla!” Seath called out.

The four quickly ceased their games and snapped into a trio of salutes and a nod of acknowledgement.

“Ma’am yes ma’am!” 

“Father.”

Scholar crossed his arms and gave them all serious looks. “Enough fun and games, head out into the city and coordinate our offensive forces. We’ve got about twenty minutes left, I want the mop-up to be a formality.”

The four all gave him nods of understanding before taking off, the changelings buzzing into the air and Priscilla vanishing into a flurry of snow.

Seath gave Amethyst Glitter a nod as well. “Follow them, do what you can.”

The Pegasus snapped out a salute and turned around to follow them. But before she did, she hesitated and glanced back at Seath hesitantly. “...Umm... sir... m-my lord...”

The Duke tilted his head in confusion. “Yes, Glitter?”

“I... er... well... i-it’s about...”

Almost instantly the dragon frowned to the extent he could. “Amethyst, we have  _talked_  about this-”

“I know, I know!” Amethyst Glitter said hastily. “B-but regardless of what she’s done, she still meant well and-and-and she tried, she really really  _tried_  and-”

“ _Peace,_  Amethyst, peace.” Seath held up a massive hand to silence her. “The discussion will be discussed at length at a later date. For now, we liberate our city. Judgement will be reserved for later.”

Amethyst nodded hesitantly before flaring her wings out and taking off after the changelings.

Seath watched her silently for a moment before speaking. “She did not lie. Many other citizens will agree with her. She  _did_  mean well, and she  _did_ do good. Not enough to make up for everything, nothing will ever be enough, but...”

“I’ll take it into consideration, Seath.” Scholar cut him off firmly. “A fair trial. That’s what I promised, that’s what we’ll deliver. Even after all this time and all that’s happened.”

Chrysalis snorted and flicked her mane back. “Either way, Scholar, you know what has to be done. We all made our vows. One way or another, they have to be honored. Mine especially.”

The Rune Keeper waved his hand absentmindedly. “Yes yes yes. We’ll deal with that when it becomes relevant. Right now,  _this_  is what’s relevant! Here, take a look, right here!”

The Queen and the Duke leaned in to observe the line indicated before groaning and shaking their heads in disgust.

“No! I- no, just no!”

“That is  _by_   _far_  the most offending example of the printed word I have seen in a long time.”

_“What!?”_  Scholar protested. “What’s wrong with it!?”

“Well, for starters, the body of it?  _Far_  too lengthy. You want to impress? Shorten it. A  _lot._ ”

“And the opener. Dreary, no chance whatsoever of it grabbing attention. And need I say anything about the conclusion?”

“Everyone’s a critic. Hopefully Gilda’s having a better time than I am.”

**-o-**

“COME ON YOU DWEEBS!” Gilda cackled as she dodged out of the way of a flurry of arrows, sending a blast of electric magic back at her opponents. “IS THAT THE BEST YOU’VE GOT? MY  _GRANDMOTHER_  FLIES FASTER THAN YOU TWO, AND HER REMAINS HAVE BEEN IN TARTARUS FOR OVER A CENTURY!”

The Pegasus Generals huffed angrily as they barely twisted around the blast, glancing at each other ruefully. The two had been playing a game of cat and mouse all throughout the Overloft’s expanse with the aggravating griffon. All too many times the gold-clad warrior had effortlessly evaded their strikes while  _they,_  on the other hoof, had experienced  _multiple_ near-misses, resulting in a large amount of singed feathers.

“Just do yourself a favor!” Arcus growled, pulling his bow’s energy-string back and blasting out a large bolt of magic.

“And give  _up!”_  Sagitta shrieked, flapping her wings and letting loose a new volley of glowing arrow-shaped bolts of magic.

A bolt and volley which Gilda batted away easily with her wing.

“Oh  _come on._ ” She taunted. “That’s the best you’ve got? Ah well. In that case, fair’s fair.” A menacing grin played across her beak as she held her arms out to her side. “You show me yours...” She snapped her talons, engulfing her claws and gauntlets in lightning.

_“I’ll show you mine!”_

The Generals glanced at each other uneasily before hastily wheeling around and darting away.

“GET BACK HERE!”

And so the hunters became the hunted, with Arcus and Sagitta winding and weaving through the nigh interminable maze of the Overloft’s numerous floating constructs of crystal and stone and Gilda relentlessly pursuing them. They darted above, below, sometimes even through when possible, utilizing every trick they could think of to avoid the griffon.

Finally, they came to rest back to back on one of the smaller islets, their chests heaving violently.

“Do... you think... we lost her?” Arcus questioned tiredly.

“I... I think so...” Sagitta gulped, wiping her brow hastily.

SMASH!

The two jumped in shock when a larger island they’d  _just_  rounded exploded in a blast of smoke and crystal shards. A few seconds later their worst fears were confirmed.

“SKREEE!” A hawk-like screech pierced the air, punctuated by multiple bolts of lightning.

“Then again, I have been wrong in the past.” Sagitta whispered numbly.

“MOVE!” Arcus roared, shoving his sister off the rock and diving after her, the both of them very narrowly avoiding being cooked alive.

“FIGHT AND DIE WITH HONOR, SHITSTAINS!” Gilda screeched as she rocketed after them.

The griffon rampaged through the sky in her pursuit of the twins. Where the Pegasi had to avoid large solid structures, she simply blasted straight through them with her destructive magic. Intent on making them suffer for their crimes through any means possible.

Suddenly, she was forced to come to a sudden halt after rounding a blind corner.

Gilda snarled furiously as she whipped her head around, adjusting her goggles and flicking through varying settings on them as she tried to locate her prey. “Where the hell did those damn dweebs go!?”

Suddenly...

SLAM!

“GAH!”

Gilda screeched in surprise when a weight slammed into her back, nearly knocking her out of the sky as she flapped furiously to stay aloft.

The gold-clad griffon struggled violently to dislodge whatever was grappling with her. A flash of light before her eyes was the only warning she had but it was enough for her to whip a talon up in front of her throat, catching the runic bow before its heavily charged string could lacerate her trachea.

Arcus heaved back with his hooves, trying his best to take out his opponent. “Just... do yourself a favor... and give up!”

“How about a better option?” Gilda shot back. In a deft move, she reached over her shoulder with her free hand, gripped him by his mane. “TAKE A HIKE!”  And with that, she flapped her wings and flipped herself over. The result was Arcus being sent smashing into a nearby piece of floating debris still held up by its enchantments before he plummeted out of sight, lost amongst the varying other islands and levitating structures.

Gilda huffed heavily for a second, flapping her way over to the rock and landing on it, clutching it with her talons. She took a moment to catch her breath, reorient herself...

CLANG!

Until she was forced to snap a wing up and block an arrow aimed straight at her head.

Gilda twisted her head around and smirked victoriously at the fuming Sagitta. “Awww, is somebody cwanky about the fact that I beat her brother’s ass? You wanna piece of me, huh birdy?”

“Yes, I do.” Sagitta grit out. She flicked her forehooves, producing an elongated pair of arrow-shaped constructs over them. “Preferably mounted over my mantlepiece!”

Gilda’s smirk became down-right predatory as lightning began to crackle along her wings and gauntlets, her goggles flashing eagerly. “Bring it on, gluestick.”

And with that, she peeled off the rock-face, tearing through the sky towards Sagitta, an ear-shattering screech emerging from her throat.

The Pegasus and the griffon clashed in midair, wing scraping against hoof, magic raging against magic, all in a mere instant before they came apart. They then flapped off a few feet before wheeling around and clashing once anew. Back and forth, back and forth, dancing through the sky in a duel of will and skill.

The two were complete and utter equals, the battle refusing to shift an inch in either of their favors.

But that was about to change.

_‘Alright, let’s see...’_  Arcus mused as he pulled back on his bow’s string.  _‘Wind speed and direction optimal... elevation difference... distance is about... eh, quarter of a mile? Target speed and direction... seriously fast and just about everywhere. Still though...’_  Arcus smirked a bit as he narrowed his eye behind his scope.  _‘That should change soon enough.’_

As if on cue, Gilda and Sagitta suddenly locked together in midair, talon against arrow, wings beating furiously as they tried to shove each other into submission. Face to face, teeth and beak grit furiously from their exertion.

_‘It was a nice run, Gilda,’_ Arcus begrudgingly admitted as he pumped energy into his bow, like he was preparing a cloud to disperse a bolt of lightning.  _‘One of the best fights we’ve had in years. Sadly, all good things must come to an end. Goodbye, Gilda Behertz. Rest in peace.’_

And with that, he loosed a silent yet powerful blast of energy, which streaked through the air like a comet.

Suddenly, time seemed to freeze, each second feeling like a minute.

Gilda turned her head around, and smirked at Arcus.

Arcus’s eyes widened in shock as he tried to process what he was seeing. How could she have seen him? How could she know where he-?

Gilda was encased in yellow light and suddenly disappeared.

Arcus was off his perch and moving before it even happened.

But happen it did.

THUNK!

Sagitta blinked in surprise, staring in shock at the magical projectile protruding from her chest.

She beat her wings weakly, trying to keep herself aloft, but both she and her brother knew it was in vain. Arcus’s bow was an anti-aerial weapon, its arrows designed to lock up the muscles of whoever it hit, outermost extremities first.

It had been Sagitta’s idea: let gravity ultimately be the death of their enemies.

And now, it would be hers.

Sagitta’s wings slowly froze in place, causing her to plummet towards the crystal city below.

Arcus pumped his wings mercilessly, desperate to reach his sister. Faster and faster, trying and trying to succeed in a race against time and nature.

Closer and closer to her, trying to catch her before she hit the crystals. His hoof was extended towards her, feet, mere  _feet_  from her. Just a few more instants. Just a few more...

“Come on...” Arcus muttered. “Don’t worry, Sis. I’ve got you,  _I’ve got you!”_  

A shadow fell over the two of them. Sagitta’s eyes widened in horror. Arcus’s heart skipped a beat.

“Say goodbye to your sister, General.”

A strong grip on the back of his cuirass yanked Arcus back, nearly snapping his neck. But the pain was nothing compared to watching his sister fall away.

He didn’t even try to struggle his way out of the griffon’s grip. He knew he wouldn’t be capable of reaching her in time. It was simple math and he had no choice but to accept it.

“Why?” He groaned, his eyes scrunched firmly shut. “Why do this? You were faster than us. Why... why just toy with us like that? Why delude us into thinking we could win?”

“You know why.” She whispered harshly in his ear. “All those years ago, during the wars. How many Storm Knights did you bring down, huh? How many Pillars did you collapse? You know what they say, Arcus: Turnabout is fair play. And besides...”

Gilda’s talons suddenly wrapped around the General’s head, wrenching his eyes open. “I’m part lion. And you know how we big cats are.” She forced his head down, forced him to watch as his sister drew ever nearer to the spires of crystal.

“We toy with our prey. We bat them around with our paws, let them scurry and run, think they have a chance to survive. And then, when their suffering is at its highest...”

Closer and closer, impending death drawing near.

“When their last dregs of hope have finally been extinguished, all chances of survival are absolutely nil...”

Less than a moment.

“We go in for the kill.”

SMASH!

Impact.

The scream that tore its way out of Arcus’s throat had nothing to do with the electricity running through his brain.

Gilda chuckled morosely as smoke wafted out of Arcus’s head. “Well, that’s that. Good game, you two. That was fun. Well, buh-bye!” She tossed the charred corpse away, letting it fall and join its twin. “Now then...” she wheeled around and smirked eagerly at the other dogfights going on throughout the Overloft. “It’s  _hunting_  time!”

As Gilda took off in a blast of electricity, the armor of both Sagitta and Arcus began to glow with hidden magic.


	18. Play to Win

Seath tilted his head back and gave a deepthroated chuckle. “And there we have it, the last of them. Finally purged. I always hoped I would see the day.”

“Yes!” Scholar pumped his fist victoriously. “Score one for us!”

“Score!?”

Scholar rolled his eyes and glanced languidly at the lavender unicorn who was glaring vehemently at him.

_“Score!?”_  She repeated incredulously. “What do you think this is, some kind of... of contest!? That this is all a big game for your amusement?!”

“Eh...” Chrysalis waved her hoof back and forth in the air. “Of a sort. When you get right down to it, this  _is_  a form of game.”

_“WHAT!?”_  Twilight screeched indignantly. But before she could start her tirade...

“They’re right.”

Twilight’s jaw dropped open in shock as she slowly turned her head. “Cadance?” She whispered quietly.

The pink Alicorn was glaring vehemently at the trio, huffing heavily and obviously straining to keep herself from relapsing into her panic. “This... is all a game. And everyone’s a piece, each with their own values, rules, moves...” She shook her head slowly. “But it’s not bad. It’s good. Because the Oligarchs? We were all  _perfectionists._  If we ever played, we played in such a way that we had a crushing victory. All opponents incapacitated, as many allies alive as possible. That’s how they see it, that’s how they work. That’s how  _we_  worked. Considering how we formed a globe-spanning empire, it’s safe to say its an effective line of thought.”

Scholar slowly clapped his hands in a mocking manner. “Very good, Cadance. Gold star to you!” He spread his arms out wide, indicating the world around them. “Indeed, we see this all as a game because that’s the most effective way to deal with it: everyone’s a piece, and we play to win. And you know what?”

He leaned in towards Twilight’s cage, his smile shining ferally beneath his hood.  _“We never lose.”_

“Oh enough.” Seath growled darkly, slapping his tentacles on the crystal ground for emphasis. “I can appreciate a fair bit of posturing as need be, but for now I’d rather be professional. Clinical. Let’s at least  _attempt_  at being courteous towards our guests. After all, we’re not _barbarians,”_ He rolled his eyes sardonically. “Well, most of us anyways.”

The crystal dragon drew himself up to his full height and crossed his arms behind his back, folding his frail wings down neatly. “The fact of the matter is that we have already won. Most of the soldiers have been routed, their chain of command thoroughly disrupted and any environmental advantages they could have taken advantage of made null and void. This is our victory, and  _nothing_ can stop that.”

THUNK!

If he’d had eyes, Seath would have blinked in surprise. As it was, he merely tilted his head down and stared blindly at the large, trunk-like shaft that had suddenly sprouted from his chest. “Well then...” That was all he he managed to get out before he collapsed forwards, driving the rest of the massive projectile through his torso and out his back.

Chrysalis hissed in shock, jerking back and whipping her head around. “Who the  _hell-”_

She only had a moments warning as a blur of color flashed straight in front of her. After that...

THRACK!

She couldn’t think of much else due to the javelin shoved through her mouth and out the back of her head.

Scholar had his arm up, runes flashing around his hand and ready to loose a blast of magic...

When his attention was drawn upwards to an Array that suddenly materialized above him.

“Oh you have  _got_  to be-!”

SKREEM!

That was all he got out before a pillar of pure magic encased him, kicking up a plume of smoke and dust.

For a few moments the plaza was silent, the Elements, Princess and drake trying to process what they had seen.

Then...

“WOOHOO!” The black pegasus that had impaled the changeling matriarch whooped, looping successfully through the air. “Oh yeah, that’s right, Equestria number one!”

“You’ve got that right, brudda!” A burly grey Earth Pony snorted, trotting down a nearby staircase from a surrounding skyscraper. “Heh, and Nova said that this wouldn’t work!”

“Tch...” A mottled ash and white Unicorn rolled her eyes as she stood up from where she had been hiding amongst the dead. “Forgive me for being skeptical about our ability to kill  _gods.”_

“Oh, whatever!” The black pegasus giggled as he landed in front of the cages. “At least it worked!”

The Earth Pony grunted in agreement, trotting up to stand alongside his comrade. He then snapped a salute at Cadance. “Ma’am. I’m Nebula. These are Nova and Mobius. We’re part of the Equestrian Black Ops. Just hang tight and we’ll have you all out of there in a second.”

The Unicorn saluted in agreement, her horn lighting up in magic.

“No!”

But before he could act, the trio jerked back in shock when Cadance regained her wits and yelled at them.

“You  _idiots!”_  She admonished. “Didn’t you learn  _anything_  in basic training!? You don’t fight  _anyone_  on the level of the Oligarchs, _especially_  the Oligarchs themselves! You run and never look back because you simply  _can’t_  win!”

“Ma’am, with all due respect, that’s a load of bull.” Nebula grunted. “Anyone can win against anyone, you just need to play your cards straight. Credit to Scholar, he’s right about one thing: this is a game. And we won.”

“Yeah! I mean,  _look_  at this!” Mobius gestured at Seath’s prone form. “The guy took a shaft from  a freaking  _ballista!_ No one survives that!”

“Actually...”

Before anyone could react, a massive hand whipped out and wrapped around the Pegasus. The ponies stared in horror as the dragon slowly drew himself upright, despite the shaft through his torso, and growled viciously at the soldier in his grip.

“You would be surprised by what a person can live through.”

“B-b-but-ERK!” Mobius’s protests were choked off as the grip on him redoubled.

“Shut up for a moment, will you?” Seath snarled. Slowly, he raised his other hand up, gripped the shaft, and in a feat of strength belied by his scrawny figure,  _wrenched_  it from his chest. Before the eyes of the awestruck and somewhat nauseated equines, the gaping hole in his chest slowly slid shut, new flesh, skin and bone growing to cover the wound until finally his body was pristine, as though he had never been harmed.

“Hmm...” The Duke hummed idly as he examined the construct of rune-engraved wood. “So, you got one of the old ballistae working, did you? What’s more, you did it without my noticing. Quite the feat. I commend you. On any other day I’d promote you for your prowess. Still though, you  _did_  impale me, so I suppose I have no other choice but to kill you. My apologies, it's just protocol.”

The Pegasus tried to say something,  _anything_  in his defense. He was silenced by the cascade of crystals and mist that encased him.

Nebula stumbled back a bit, trying to turn his head away from the gruesome sight.

His motion was halted by a hoof from a much taller being wrapping around his shoulders and forcing his head back forwards.

“Awww, come now!”

The soldier’s voice almost stopped as an all-too-familiar voice crooned in his ear. Slowly, hesitantly, he turned his eyes and stared in horror at the figure that was holding on to him.

Chrysalis’s grin was nearly face-splitting. “You don’t want to miss the show, do you?”

“But-but  _how-!?”_  His protests were choked off as he turned his gaze towards where Chrysalis’s corpse had been.

Where once there stood a changeling queen, now there was only a drone in sleek, almost reflective black armor with electric blue borders. Unlike the other insectoid soldiers, this one’s helmet included a faceplate which obscured its visage completely, leaving only a blank expanse of obsidian.

“Ah yes...” Chrysalis’s grip around the pony tightened as her tone took on a hint of menace. “The Nameless.”

Suddenly, the air before the two of them shimmered before peeling away, revealing two more similarly-armored soldiers. They didn’t say anything, didn’t react, just  _stared_  at him.

“They’re my personal guard, you see.” The matriarch continued. “Don’t worry, the one your comrade killed didn’t have any friends or family per say. See, the Nameless are as the name describes: Nameless. They’re drones, brainless husks with no identities to call their own. They’re genetic abnormalities that occasionally occur in hatches. I put them to use by commandeering their bodies and using them as extra sets of eyes and bodies. Normally, I also use them as body doubles. I usually keep them out of sight during combat, though I  _do_  tend to flash them around a bit during casual events. What do you think, hm?”

“Fascinating.” Nebula replied drily. “Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

In one deft move, he whipped his hoof up to his shoulder, grabbed her arm and flipped her over his shoulder. Once she was flat on the ground, he lifted his hoof up and slammed it down on her head, reducing her skull to pieces.

“Well...” The soldier panted. “That’s that...”

“Indeed.”

“GRK!” The Earth Pony whipped his hoof up to his throat, trying to pry her leg off of his neck. “Wh-h-how!?”

“Do you  _honestly_  think that I would just  _expose_  myself to you like that!?” Chrysalis snarled. “Do you  _honestly_ think that I, a centuries old ruler, thoroughly versed in the arts of deception and subterfuge, would be so  _idiotic!?_  I am thoroughly insulted. Now then, you’ve had your fun. You were quite good, I will admit. I just happened to be better.”

And with that, she jerked her leg to the side, snapping Nebula’s neck.

The entire time, Nova had been backing up slowly from the two titans trying her best to act inconspicuous and avoid drawing their ire.

Suddenly, she froze in terror as she backed into something.

“Say... you wanna know something?”

Slowly, she turned her head around, her pupils dilating in horror.

“The fact that we never lost any of the wars we played? The reason why we  _never_ lose?”

Nova tried to run, but was snatched up by a ring of runes. She was then turned around, bringing her face to face with Scholar’s savagely grinning face, his entire body shrouded by runes.

“There’s an easy explanation.”

He leaned in close so that the two of them were inches apart.

_“We cheat.”_

“So,” Seath rumbled, idly tossing away the newly formed Gem Custodian and letting it take to the air on its fractal-patterned wings. “What _will_  you do with her, hm? After all, you do have a multitude of methods available to you.”

“Indeed...” Scholar hummed idly. “What to do, what to do. Geeze, now I know what Nix and Null feel like.”

Cadance beat her hooves helplessly against the side of her prison, trying to draw his attention. “Scholar,  _please_  don’t-!”

The Rune Keeper flicked his hand carelessly, conjuring an Array before Cadance’s cage that silenced her. She kept shouting for a moment before freezing and pounding her head against her cage in frustration.

“Now then...” He tapped his chin thoughtfully. “Let’s see... immolation? No no, that’s far too mundane... Magic overload... no... hm... tricky trick-eh?” He froze suddenly and stared at the pony intently. “What’s that?”

Nova paled in panic and tried to struggle away from him. “I-I don’t-GRK!”

She was cut off by Scholar whipping his hand out and clamping her mouth shut. He then stared intently into her eyes, searching her for _something._  Finally, he drew back and smiled.

“Implants,” He whispered in awe. “ _That’s_  how you managed that blast. Runic implants designed to increase mana output. But far,  _far_  more advanced than anything that we ever had.” He glanced over his shoulder and smirked at the suddenly pale Alicorn. “How rude of you, Cadance! Keeping such  _fascinating_ progress away from me for so long! Its simply  _criminal!”_  He turned his attention back to Nova. “Well, seeing how you’re proving to be so  _interesting,_  I suppose there’s only one thing for it: I’ll just cut you open and-!”

Scholar’s diatribe suddenly cut off, his last word hanging in the air and his entire body frozen.

At the same time, Seath and Chrysalis snapped their heads around and staring at him, their jaws gaping in shock. Meanwhile, Cadance, who had been terrified before, now looked as though she were about to be sick.

“Oh you have  _got_  to be kidding me.” Chrysalis mumbled.

“How could we have  _possibly-”_  Seath started.

**“You!”**

The on-lookers jumped as Scholar suddenly bellowed furiously, dashing up to Cadance’s cage, reaching through it and lifting her up by her throat.

**“You made me forget about them!”**  The human snarled, his voice drowning in magic.  **“You hid my own creations behind a subliminal barrier!** ** _Hid them from me!”_**

“N-no! I-it wasn’t me!” Cadance wheezed. “It wasn't  _us! S-she_  set it up! Hid herself and the others  from us! I-I didn’t remember that they existed either, I swear! S-Scholar, please, d-don’t-!”

The human growled angrily, flicking his wrist and sending her into the far wall of her container. He then ripped his Lexicon open and flipped through it until he found the page he wanted, and slammed his hand on the paper. A flurry of runes whipped up around him, an array of varying designs and colors encircling his torso. He hastily reached out and tagged a red set of the alien markings. Almost instantly, the rest flashed out of sight and a pair of Arrays appeared before his ear and mouth.

“Come on, come on... please...” He pleaded quietly, all but  _begging_  for whatever he was attempting to work.

Suddenly, the runes flashed green and Scholar’s face lit up with joy. “Hello? Are you- YES!” Scholar cheered ecstatically. “Oh thank _Athena!_  You’re alright! A-and the others? Are they-?” He nodded at the answer, chuckling in relief. “That’s good, that’s good. Fantastic in fact! That’ll make that much easier! Now then...” The human slowly turned his head, sending a downright  _disturbing_ smile at the still-captive Nova. “I’ve got a...  _patient_  for you to deal with.”

 Scholar suddenly flinched, waving his arm frantically as a female voice began shouting over the Arrays. “GAH! Nonono! I remember that you don’t approve of euthanasia, but that’s not what I’m asking for! See, it appears that in the interim between our imprisonment and Vitrum’s little stint out of time, magi-tech has advanced dramatically. The prisoner I have here has multiple subdermal implants that are _definitely_  superior to what we had back in the day. What I want you to do is take her, cut her open, and examine the implants... the rest of her? Eh, do what you want. Plug her into something and use the leftovers as spare parts. Uh-huh. Uh-huh, got it, I’ll send her through.”

Scholar made to gesture at Seath, then froze and whipped his hand back to the runes. “Geeze,  _almost_  forgot to tell you! There’s a priority target in the middle of the fighting. I’ll send you the details on him and you can forward them to them so that they don’t-! Hm? Oh, no no, he’s no one important, I’ve just got a bet riding on his survival is all.” Scholar flinched again as the shouting renewed. “I-y-yes, I know, I promised no more gambling on lives but- come on,  _please!_ I’ve got a lot riding on this guy’s head, literally! So, please?”

He listened attently to her response for a minute. Over the course of that time, what little of his expression could be seen slowly fell and became haunted. “I... th-that’s a good point...” He tugged uneasily at his color. “With her around, there’s a good chance that... actually, it’s very likely she’ll...” Scholar swallowed heavily. “Awwww shit. What the hell do I-!?” He was cut off, blinking in surprise at what he was hearing. Slowly, he started to grin eagerly. “Oh.  _Oh._ Well then. When you put it like that...” Scholar’s grin became downright evil. “That actually makes things so much easier. Thank you, m’dear.”

_“NO!”_

Scholar glanced over his shoulder uninterestedly at Cadance. The Alicorn was downright frantic, pounding her hooves ceaselessly against the walls of her cage. “Scholar, I’m begging you,  _begging you!”_  She screamed. “T-The law! The Law of Inheritance! Please Scholar, the Law of Inheritance is in effect,  _please!”_

“The Law of Inheritance?!” Spike questioned in surprise. “What the heck is that!?”

Cadance panted heavily as she continued to beat against her cage, her eyes wide with terror. “It’s an old Concordian law. It states that all of an individual’s standings, titles and possessions become null and void upon their death...” Tears started to flow down the Alicorn’s cheeks as she choked, unable to continue.

In the end, it was Seath who finished in his rumbling voice.

“And that those holdings shall not be returned should the individual’s demise be rescinded.”

Twilight paled drastically, her mouth running dry. “N-no...” She breathed in horror. “Th-that’s impossible! You can’t it’s  _impossible!_ ”

Scholar’s only response was to chuckle darkly, his hood shadowing his eyes. “Oh believe you me, anything is possible so long as the brain is intact and fresh enough.”

“No...  _NO!”_  Twilight screamed desperately, joining Cadance in her protests. “You can’t do this!  _You can’t do this!”_

“Can’t I?”  The human questioned smugly.

“No, you can’t!” Cadance insisted. “The Law is clear, if Shiny dies-!”

“Then jack shit happens.” He cut her off matter-of-factly. “I still win so long as he’s alive in...” Scholar glanced at his glasses quickly. “Ten more minutes. So long as he’s ‘alive’ then, then everything’s fine. Besides, we came up with the law to deal with issues over Succession and whatnot. It doesn’t hold any sway over bets-!”

“Unless someone calls it into effect,  _which I do.”_

Scholar shot a betrayed look at Chrysalis.  “Et tu, Ch- _oof!”_

The changeling rolled her eyes sardonically as she withdrew her hoof from her friend’s gut. “Oh just please shut up.”

Cadance laughed numbly in relief. “Thank you, Chrysalis,  _thank-ergh!”_  The Princess’s gratitude was cut off as her pupils shrank to pinpricks and her muscles locked up.

“That wasn’t for  _your_  benefit, turncoat.” Chrysalis snorted as her horn ceased glowing green. “It was for mine.” She gave Scholar a disbelieving look. “Did you  _seriously_  expect me to just take you trying to  _cheat_  in such a blatant manner lying down?”

“Worth a shot?” He wheezed tentatively.

“Still not happening. Win by the spirit of the rules or pay up now.”

“Got it.” Scholar groaned as he tapped the Array by his ear. “Yeah, I’m back. That’s a no on the Lazarus gambit, Chrysalis invoked the law... Yeah, yeah, she’s here too, brought the hive... Uh-huh, well, nevertheless, I’ll send over the intel and the patient and let you get to work, alright?... Yeah, alright, got it. See you soon!” And with that he stood up straighter, dismissing the Arrays. He cast a final blood-freezing glance towards Nova before raising his hand and snapping his fingers expectantly.

Seath complied, waving his hand in the air and conjuring a set of runes. Moments later, the crystal that composed the ground  _wrenched_ itself upwards until it formed an arch. The arch sparked and sputtered momentarily before flaring up and filling with a curtain of runes and magic.

Scholar floated the struggling Unicorn in front of the gateway. He then flipped close to the back of his book, tapped at a few points on the paper, and ripped the page clean out and into the air. Instead of falling, the sheet floated within a bubble of runes, several lines of glyphs and symbols flashing along its surface.

The human gave a final sardonic wave of farewell to Nova. “Tell Frannie I said hi for me!”

And with that, he shoved his arm out and cast her through the portal, which promptly snapped shut.

Scholar clapped his hands together successfully. “Well, that’s that! Nothing left to do but wait out the clock! By the way...” He cupped his chin contemplatively as he thought long and hard on something. “What do you guys think? Think she’ll have a body when all’s said and done?”

Chrysalis shrugged uncaringly. “With her? Who can tell? It’s about as likely to be one thing or another. She’s a wily one after all.”

Seath let out a rumbling chuckle. “Personally, I suspect she’ll be runic in nature. The last time I saw her, she was trying to golemancy with a few other fields.”

“Oh? Now isn’t that interesting. I have a lot to look forward to!”

“What in tarnation are you nutjobs yammerin’ on about!?” Applejack demanded. “And who the hay did you send that poor filly to anyways!?”

Scholar gave her a contemplative look before chuckling darkly. “Oh, nowhere important. She’s just going to see an old friend of mine. And don’t worry, she won’t kill poor old Nova. Though by the time  _she’s_  done with her...” He flashed them all a bloodthirsty grin.

_“She’ll wish she had.”_

**-o-**

Nova groaned painfully, shaking her head as she slowly came conscious.

The unicorn attempted to struggle, to move, but found her limbs to be completely restrained. Straining to shift her head around, the Unicorn found that she was strapped down to a slab of metal. Flicking her eyes back and forth, she realized that she couldn’t see anything. Everything was blocked out by the light source shining directly above her.

The soldier scrunched her eyes shut, trying her best to come to terms with what had happened: the attack, the capture... and when she’d come through the portal, a movement of swift movement before something insanely sharp jabbed her in the leg. After that... darkness.

Suddenly, the sound of clattering above her head caused her to strain her eyes upwards. While she couldn’t see anything, she  _could_  hear someone. A female, talking in a voice that was intelligent, but young and curious. There was a slight waver to it. Not like she was weak, but... like it was wholly natural.

“Let’s see...” The voice mused idly, a small metallic clicking sound ringing out the entire time. “Blood pressure, normal. Blood type, AB positive. Fur color, mix of grey hues. Temperature, within acceptable ranges. Injuries, minimal. Heart rate... elevated? Ah, you’ve woken up. Sorry I wasn’t with you right away, I just had to send something to my sisters.”

“Wh-who are you!?” Nova cried, renewing her struggles. “Let me out of here!”

“Ah... I’m sorry, but I’m afraid I can’t do that. After all, you’re still my patient. And you’ve been mean to me and my friends, so...” The voice trailed off helplessly. “Still though, I might as well introduce myself. It’s the polite thing to do after all.”

Slowly, the origin of the voice came closer and and came into view. Nova’s mouth dropped open in horror at the individual before her.

The person was a human, like Scholar, but instead female. She had long, blond hair that hung down her back. Her eyes were a soft amber and her eyelids were at half-mast, giving her a vaguely half-asleep look. The horrifying part about her was the  _in_ -humane features on her. A pair of stitches ran out of the sides of her mouth, running across her face and a stitch above her left eyebrow that ran up her forehead. Two large bolts were sticking out of the sides of her head. She had one hand at the one on her left, idly twisting it around and producing the clicking noise. Meanwhile, her other hand was holding up a clipboard. A  _third_  arm was idly scratching away at the paper on it. A fourth was twirling a scalpel around absentmindedly while a fifth and six were tucked away in the pockets of her labcoat.

“My name is Fran Madaraki.” The monstrous human introduced herself politely. “Nice to meet you.”

Nova opened her mouth to scream... and gagged when Fran’s bottom-left hand whipped out its pocket and shoved a tongue depressor in her mouth.

“Hmm...” The patchwork person used the opposite hand to withdraw a pen light and shine it into her mouth. “Teeth seem to be fine... no inflammation...” She took her hand out and held Nova’s eye open, quickly shining the light over it. “Pupil dilation optimal, no brain damage. That’s good, that’s good...”

Nova coughed heavily before staring fearfully at the person. “Y-you... it’s really you... you  _exist!”_

Fran blinked in surprise, tilting her head curiously. “Oh? Hm... I’ve been hearing rumors of a few legends about Duke Seath and Priscilla. It makes sense that there would be a few about us as well. So, tell me... what do they say about me?”

The soldier struggled violently, doing anything she could to move. “T-the mad doctor! The one who cuts up ponies for fun! F-F- _Franken FraaaARGH!”_

Her rambling evolved into a scream when Fran’s top right arm suddenly tossed its scalpel into her coat’s pocket, withdrew a syringe and stabbed it in her leg. Nova tried to keep screaming, but was horrified even further than before when her vocal cords were suddenly silenced and her limbs locked up.

“Franken Fran, huh?” The doctor mused as she withdrew the needle from the pony. “Eh, at least it’s better than Fran the Ripper. Sheesh, _that_  was a fiasco. Now then...” Fran set down the clipboard and pen she’d been writing on on a nearby table and picked up a marker. She leaned over Nova and began marking out a specific area on the pony’s forehead, around the base of her horn. “Allow me to explain the procedure. First and foremost, I’ll be making an incision about here so that I can examine those  _fascinating_ implants of yours. After that... well...”

Fran gave her patient what would be a kind smile, if not for the manic spark in her eyes. “See, the whole time I’ve been in here? A few old friends of mine have grown... old. Weary. Parts of them have worn out. That’s not very good for them, you see. I don’t  _want_  them to die. I want them to live. That’s what I’m all about, you see? Preserving life. So... I’ll be needing a bit of help from you. Well... not so much you as your body.”

The mad doctor raised a hand and snapped her fingers. In response, lights lit up all along the room. Although she could not scream, Nova still gurgled in terror. Lining the walls were several containers, filled with liquid. Floating within them were... monsters, stitched together with bits and pieces of varying species. Unicorns, Pegasi, Earth Ponies, griffons, minotaurs, dragons... even a few she couldn’t quite place.

Fran spoke casually, pointing out different creatures. “Hubert needs some new limbs, I think that Largo could use your lungs, intestines for Dino, heart for Argus... Oh, and Priner will want a new horn too.” Noticing Nova’s shivering, she ran her hand through her mane in a calming manner. “Aww... there there... don’t worry... I won’t kill you. I’m  _against_  killing other creatures! Life is  _sacred!”_

She then indicated another container. This one held a creature that appeared to be partly biological, while the rest was rune-encrusted stone. “See,  _that_  is my latest project. I call it Orthos. It’s  _almost_  done, but for it to work, it needs a final piece: a brain with which to process information. And yours?” Fran tapped Nova’s skull lightly. “Yours will do  _just_  fine. You’ll still be alive, I promise! Just a bit... uncomfortable is all. Alright?”

Tears were now leaking down Nova’s cheeks as she stared at Fran pleadingly.

The patchwork person ignored her, turning around and bustling about with a nearby table. “Oh, and for the record, that wasn’t anesthesia that I injected you with, merely a muscle paralyzer I concocted. We wouldn’t want you missing out on any of this, would we? Such an _interesting_ procedure!”

Fran turned back around, her mouth set in a grin of child-like glee and an array of surgical tools gripped in her hands.

“Ah! Finally, my first job in so long! Well, let’s get to it!”

And with that, her hands raised up simultaneously, her face twisting into the epitome of dementia.

_“Begin the operation!”_

**-o-**

“Duck!”

Shining Armor grunted as he felt a hoof plant itself in the small of his back and shove him to the ground. However, he refrained from protesting due to the fact that a bolt of magic sheared through the air above him moments after.

BOOM!

The ear-shattering explosion seconds later emphasized his gratitude.

“Move!”

The captain reacted swiftly, scrambling to his feet and darting forwards.

That was the way things had been for the previous heart-pounding half-hour.  The soldier that had rescued him had been desperately shepherding him along, pushing him to dodge and run as need be. Honestly, without him, Shining would have probably died several times over.

The entire place was... intense. Shining was in awe. After all, he’d only been able to see a tiny bit of Vitrum after arriving, but this... sure, the fights that were taking place up and down the street were a bit frantic, but the city still instilled a sense of wonder. The massive pillars of crystal, bridges that spanned deep chasms and the platforms they sometimes held up... Even with soldiers and citizens clashing here and there, it was still beautiful.

“Quick, in here!” The soldier urged, shouldering Shining Armor into a nearby alleyway.

The two staggered forwards for a bit before slumping against the walls surrounding them.

“We... should be safe... for now...” The soldier panted, holding his hoof to his chest. “Sweet Ares, I haven’t run that hard since my last tour. Enlist in the Army, they said.  _Re-_ enlist in the Army, they said. The Crystal Empire is a paid vacation, they said! Whoever the hell  _they_  is, I want them to look at Sombra and the  _active rebellion_  and tell me that  _this_  is a vacation!”

“Speak for yourself...” Shining groaned. “Considering how things have been going lately? I’m going to guess that I’ve been seeing the start of a brand new norm.” He glanced at his rescuer. “So... other than the running... how much of this is par for the course?”

The armored pony shrugged in a casual yet still exhausted manner. “Eh, it comes and goes. Normally the most hectic things get is when we raid a senior Academic’s base.  _Those_  can be tough. Lots of runes and traps and... yeah, word to the wise, first rule of raiding an Academic’s home? Don’t.”

Shining gave the soldier a searching look. “Raids, huh?’

The pony raised a hoof and waved it hastily. “For the record, we usually tried to keep things peaceful, tried to take them in quietly. It only got really bad if they fought. And no, we didn’t execute them either, and yes, we tried to keep their families uninvolved if we could.” The soldier was quiet for a second before sighing and hanging his head. “I tried to stay out of those fights myself. Puts a bad taste in my mouth. I’ve always thought the restrictions were a bit too harsh. Necessary, but harsh all the same.”

Shining Armor gave the unicorn a searching look before nodding in acceptance. “I suppose so. So... name and rank?”

The unicorn worked his helmet off his head and placed it on the ground. He then turned around and snapped Shining Armor a salute. He had a light grey coat and a light violet mane. “Corporal Faithful Shield of the Equestrian Army, captain. And sir, might I say? It’s an honor to meet the commanding officer of this generation’s Guard. They always did the forces proud.”

Shining Armor snorted and shook his head slightly. “Things change, Shield. You should have seen the debacle that was my wedding. Not one of us could do a damn thing, me least of all! Urgh, compared to you guys...”

“Let me guess. Total collapse of structure, your mind wasn’t your own and things all went to shit?”

The captain snapped his head up in shock. “How did you-!?”

“Remember that tour I mentioned?” Faithful Shield grinned sheepishly. “One of the last strikes on a changeling hive. Let me tell you, those buggy bastards are wily insects.. They tend to run circles around everyone. We usually have to marched straight from a base to the hive for a fight because camping anywhere else guarantees infiltrators and hypnosis. You aren’t as weak as you think. You’re just... not quite ready. Give it some time, you’ll get there.”

Shining Armor worked his jaw for a second before furrowing his brow. “Corporal Shield...  _why_  did you save me?”

The relatively old Unicorn shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. “The charge on Prince Pompous’s-”

“Wait, you called that him Prince Pompous?” Shining Armor queried.

Faithful Shield started to sweat arrowheads as he flashed his superior a nervous grin. “Eh- aheh, What I meant to say was-! Er, I mean-! Look, Cap, everyone calls him that, don’t give me latrine duty!”

“I only ask because that’s what we call Prince Blueblood.”

The soldier gave the captain a wide-eyed look. “...it is  _scary_  how much our DNA regulates our personalities, isn’t it?”

“Oh most definitely.” Shining Armor nodded hastily in agreement.

“Right...” Faithful Shield rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “Well... anyways... the blowhard’s spear has a hell of a blast. And while what I’ve seen of your shields are definitely  _hellishly_  strong by any standards, you couldn’t have known that it was specifically designed to pierce magical shields. Hell, the only reason why it didn’t kill the Duke is that he’s been working on shield magic longer than you, me, or the prince have been alive combined. So... yeah, I knew that thing was going to turn your chest cavity into a hole and I decided to act.”

Shining Armor raised an eyebrow questioningly. “Just a soldier doing his duty and protecting his superior, then?”

Faithful Shield stiffened almost instantly and raised his head proudly. “Sir, no sir!”

The captain of the Guard raised his head questioningly. “Explain, soldier.”

The corporal stamped his hoof on the ground definitively. “Sir! I am a soldier of the Equestrian standing forces! My duty is to protect _all_  citizens of Equestria from all forms of harm, regardless of standing, birth, or any other possible factors, sir!”

Shining Armor stared at the soldier for a moment before smiling and nodding in acceptance. “Well said, soldier. So tell me, do you have a plan or are we just running around wildly?”

“Essentially yes.”

“...care to rethink that last statement?”

“Not even a bit, sir.” Shield shook his head. “See, the only reason that you aren’t dead yet is that the Oligarchs haven’t put all their resources into it. Hell, if Seath tried, he’d know  _exactly_  where we were at any and all times. As it is, we’ve been running around at random, going from place to place. If we were to head for a safehouse, or one of the barracks, to join up with any other soldiers, then we’d end up under siege alongside them. Our best option is to keep mobile, sticking to areas that have already been cleared. So long as we keep off the frontlines, we ought to be safe.”

Shining Armor stared at Faithful Shield contemplatively for a second before nodding in acceptance. “Very well then, lieutenant. You haven’t led me astray yet. Lead the way.”

Shield snapped of a casual salute before turning around and starting to trot down the alley. However, before he went more than a few steps he froze in place and slowly turned to stare back at the captain. “Umm... sir? I told you, I’m a corporal.”

Shining Armor smirked lightly and nodded in acknowledgment. “I know what I said,  _Second Lieutenant_  Faithful Shield. Is there a problem with that?”

Faithful Shield worked his jaw for a minute before nodding energetically in acceptance. “Y-yes  _sir!”_  And with that the two took off down the alley at a steady trot.

“And for the record?” Shining Armor panted out. “I’d make you a First Lieutenant if I could, but I promised my friend Flash Sentry that one for when he finally earns it. We went through basic together, so...”

“I get it, you think he’s all but guaranteed. No big deal with me, sir. Way I see it, I’m going to have to deal with all the stuck-up asses in Officer School so that’s a fair price. And you know what they say, if it’s good enough for me...”

Shining smiled, “It’s good enough for government work.” They shared a laugh at the joke that had been persevered for a full millenia.

“Well, anyways, come on!” Faithful Shield jerked his head to the side. “I know an old soldier’s pub a few streets down that  _should_  be abandoned in the middle of this! It should be this way!”

As he came out of the alleyway, the soldier started to turn right. But before he went even a step further, he hastily planted his hooves in the ground and fell on his rump, eyes wide with terror. “Or not.” He squeaked in terror.

“What are you- _grk!”_  Shining Armor cut his question off as he looked over the soldier’s shoulder and choked in horror.

Priscilla slowly turned her head around and raised an eyebrow at the pair curiously, nonchalantly flicking a profusely bleeding pony’s corpse off of her scythe’s blade. A midnight-blue Earth Pony and a light-brown Unicorn standing at her sides turned around to face them as well, glaring at them vehemently as blood dripped off their rune and crystal laced forelegs.

“ _Definitely_  not.” Shining Armor gulped.

“Captain Shining Armor. Corporal Faithful Shield.” Priscilla intoned in her soft, lilting voice. “Father has been searching for you. He will be _most_  pleased.”

Shining Armor instinctively started to light his horn up, but before it could begin to glow, an armored hoof shot backwards and buried itself in his gut.

Faithful Shield shot him a desperate look before chuckling nervously as he slowly started to back away from the murderous trio. He darted his eyes back and forth frantically before finally focusing on the Earth Pony and setting his lips in a rictus grin. “H-hey Quartz! Remember me? Ol’ Faithful! You gave me that nickname when I blew chunks after drinking too many during Soldier Happy Hour! We laughed and laughed...”

The burly Earth Pony snorted derisively, shaking his head slightly. “Close. It was my  _sister_  who gave you that name. Remember her,  _Ol’ Faithful?”_  He spat the name out as if it were a curse.

Almost immediately the soldier’s personality shifted, going from pleading to defensive, steeling his shoulders and reinforcing his gaze. “I wasn’t responsible for what happened to Jade, Quartz. I was  _against_  the raid. She helped a lot of people with her herbal remedies, _regardless_  of the ways she grew them. I am truly sorry for what happened, Quartz. No one could have expected the wall to shatter the way it did. Please, she was my friend!”

“And she was my sister!” Quartz snarled angrily. He panted heavily for a second before taking a deep breath and bowing his head. “But... I know what you mean well. I know that you didn’t want to hurt her. Hell, I even  _advocated_  for you to join the Academia, for Duke Seath to invite you into the dream worlds.”

Faithful Shield blinked in shock. “Wh- but then, why did I never-?”

“Because...” Priscilla droned. “I tested you, and found you unwilling.”

“WHAT!? But-!”

“Do not try to object, Faithful Shield.” She cut him off flatly. “I searched your psyche. I looked into your mind, your being. I  _know_ you, Faithful Shield. I know that you are well and truly sympathetic to our cause... but you are also undyingly attached to the Equestrian cause as well. Look me in the eye, corporal, and tell me honestly: were you to join our cause, would you be devoted to it, wholly and unconditionally? Could you honestly say that you would be able to turn your back on the Princesses, and stand by our side? Can you promise we that we could trust you?”

The unicorn stared at her silently for a moment before closing his eyes and looking away.

“That’s what I thought.” Priscilla sighed wearily, running her finger along her scythe’s blade. “For  whatever it is worth, I  _am_ sorry about this. You and Shining Armor are both remarkably honorable. But... you are both irrevocably opposed to us. We are on opposite sides of this war... and as such, no matter how much I wish otherwise... there is no other alternative.”

Faithful Shield nodded solemnly. “Yes. I understand. I suppose there’s no other choice. I’ll just stand here and take it like a- _CHEESE IT!”_

All of a second, the unicorn grabbed the front of Shining Armor’s barrel with his magic and bolted down the street away from the trio.

SLAM!

“GAH!” “ACK!”

They got about six meters before before they ran face first into a wall of brown magic and runes.

“Well that didn’t work...” Shining Armor muttered.

“I just remembered...” Faithful Shield mumbled against the barrier. “I forgot to introduce you to my superior. Shining Armor, meet Sergeant Amber, chief of the Riot Control Squad. Renowned for his barriers and crowd control tactics,” The soldier tilted his head slightly and raised an eyebrow at the brown unicorn. “I’m gonna go ahead and guess that the reason you don’t have a perfect record  _isn’t_  due to a few accidents, is it?”

The realigned soldier chuckled wistfully and rubbed the back of his head. “What can I say?” He asked honestly. “You and I, we’re just doin’ what we’ve always done: followin’ orders an’ upholdin’ our sworn duties. The difference, though? I’ve just got a few duties that don’t match up with your own. It’s nothin’ personal, mate. I swear it.”

“That’s  _real_  reassuring.”

“For whatever it is worth...” Priscilla sighed as she strengthened her grip on her weapon. “I will try and make your deaths painless. At the least, you both deserve  _that_  much. Do either of you have any final words that you would desire me to pass on?”

Shining Armor snarled as he turned around and faced the demi-dragon head on. “Go to-!”

“Er, actually, I have a few!” Faithful Shield interjected. He gave the Captain a desperate look. “Does a sequence of three swift hoof-taps and one stomp mean anything to you?”

Amber frowned and tapped his hoof to his chin in thought. “Wait a second... isn’t that the signal for a-”

Almost instantly, Shining Armor flashed a shield over his head, covering his ears and eyes. Simultaneously, Faithful Shield’s horn lit up and he blasted an orb of white light up into the air between the two groups.

Amber stared at the orb in confusion for a second before paling and letting his ears droop. “Awww shi-!”

_BANG!_

“Gah!” Priscilla whipped her forearm to her eyes,rubbing them vigorously as she tried to regain her sight, stumbling slightly as her inner ears tried to cope with the sudden stress put on them. The ponies at her sides weren’t much better, groaning as they attempted to reorient themselves.

“Let’s try this again. CHEESE IT!” Faithful Shield bolted down the street, Shining Armor following behind him. “We are so lucky, we are _so_  lucky!” The soldier gasped. “If Amber had realized even a second sooner-!”

“Less talking, more running!” Shining Armor grit out.

“Come on, in here!” The soldier darted down an alleyway. He then slammed into Shining Armor’s side, holding him against the wall and clamping his leg over his muzzle. Shield’s horn flashed white, coating them in a curtain of white light. The curtain shimmered around them for a moment before fading away.

They stood there for a few seconds before finally...

Priscilla flashed into existence at the mouth of the alley, her brow furrowed as she raked the length of the sidestreet. For a moment, her gaze seemed to focus on the two of them. Then...

She scowled and looked away. “They’re gone,” She called out. “Seek them out, do not let them escape!”

And with that, she was encased in a flurry of snow and vanished. A second later and Quartz and Amber galloped by.

The pair stood there for a few, endless minutes before the curtain of white reappeared, shimmered and melted away. Faithful Shield stumbled away from Shining Armor, panting from exertion. “I had absolutely  _no_  idea whether or not that would work...”

Shining Armor gave the soldier a bemused look. “The heck was that!?”

The relatively older unicorn gave him a shaky grin. “ Light manipulation. It’s kind of my thing. Useful for when you want to take a nap without getting caught... or avoid being detected while you’re trying to avoid the daughter of a city’s god-governor who  _really_  wants you dead.”

The Captain gave him a hasty nod... before suddenly freezing. “Wait,  _‘god-governor’!?”_

“Eh, I wanted something in the same vein as god-king but less-”

“No no no, I mean...” Shining Armor searched for something to say. “Earlier... you said that Seath would be able to know  _exactly_  where we were if he wanted to. What did you mean by that?”

Faithful Shield breathed heavily for a second before sighing despondently. “Seath is... immortal. And I mean  _legitimately_  immortal. Incinerate him, decapitate him, disintegrate every last piece of him, anything and everything you want, it doesn’t matter. He’ll always come back, always regenerate to pristine condition. The reason why is that he’s found a way to link himself to the world, a corporeal connection, an unshakable tether to an object. So long as that tether exists, Seath will not, _cannot_  die.”

“Woah...” Shining Armor breathed. “But then... what is... he...” The white unicorn trailed off, a hint of horror and recognition creeping into his voice. His eyes slowly trailed down to his hooves. To the floor beneath. “You have  _got_  to be kidding me.”

“Nope.” Faithful Shield shook his head solemnly. “In return for his help to save the world from an imminent threat, Seath as allowed to design and construct Vitrum. He then linked himself to it. For all intents and purposes, Seath  _is_ Vitrum. So long as he remains within its walls, he is essentially a god.”

The captain processed the information for a second before feeling his mouth run dry. “E-eight more minutes...” He breathed in horror. “In eight minutes, Seath is going to go all out. A-and I heard what he was called, the  _un-seated_  Oligarch. If that’s what an un-official one looks like, then how the hell-!”

“We’ll deal with that later.” Faithful Shield interjected. He raised a hoof and placed it on Shining Armor’s shoulder. “For now... for now we just try and survive. Okay?”

Shining Armor considered his words for a moment before nodding in acceptance. “Right... right.” He shrugged Shield’s hoof off and began trotting out of the alleyway. “Come on, let’s keep moving.”

Faithful Shield grinned eagerly as he followed his superior. “I hear you! And who knows? With any luck, we won’t run into anyone else!”

They emerged back into the sunlight...

And stared bemusedly at the twin spears pointed between their eyes.

“Well well... what do we have here, boys?” Rotfang leered.

“A pair of dead-beat pansy ponies who hold the key to great fortune!” Lacewing cackled.

“LET’S GET THEM!” Chitter roared as he jumped into the air, waving his hooves energetically.

Faithful Shield took in the horde of black, chitinous, murderous figures before them numbly. “Me and my mouth...” He whimpered.


	19. Hope Springs Finite

Shining Armor groaned as he slumped against the railing of the stairwell he and Faithful Shield had been hiding in. “That... was not fun.”

“Tell me about it!” Shield cried, shaking his mane and trying to dislodge the ichor that was stuck in his mane. “I  _hate_  swarm tactics!”

“Speaking of which...” The white Unicorn gave his subordinate a searching look. “A  _lot_ of those changelings seemed more focused on you than me. Why is that?”

Faithful Shield had the decency to look sheepish as he rubbed the back of his head. “Well... remember that tour I mentioned? It was less a changeling hive, more the changeling  _capitol._  Yeah, I’m pretty sure a soldier with a tendency for flashbangs would piss  _someone_  off.”

Shining Armor nodded in acceptance. “Fair enough. So!” He clapped his hooves together. “We finally managed to shake them. Any thoughts on where we’re going?”

“Er...” The soldier tapped his chin in consideration. “Give me a second, will you? They started shutting off parts of this place and placing them underground a bit after I arrived.”

“Yeah...” Shining looked at him questioningly. “Why is that, anyways?”

“Eh...” Faithful Shield shrugged absentmindedly. “A lot of people started moving out over time and the city was becoming too big to manage. So, higher ups decided to put a bunch of it away. Cut out unnecessary parts, hide away old weapons, stuff like that.”

“Huh...” Shining Armor grunted sadly, contemplating the structures around them, from the Overloft above to the Subarchives below. “A pity. This place is...”

“Something else?” Faithful Shield chuckled at his superior’s bemused look. “What can I say? I felt the same way when I walked into this place. Anyways...” He looked up at their surroundings. “I’m  _fairly_  certain that we’re on Diamond Lane. That means if we go down this way for a bit, we  _should_  reach Starlight Square. With any luck, we can hide out there for the next nine minutes. After that...” He grimaced. “Well, you’re safe, so  _I’ll_  try not to think about that.”

Shining Armor winced in sympathy as he stood up. “Right. Well, after you.”

The two galloped down the street, glancing around and making certain that they were alone.

Suddenly, as they came to a corner in the road, they were forced to a full stop. The reason...

“GAH!” Shining Armor clamped his hooves over his nose. “W-what on Mundus!? It smells like a griffon slaughterhouse! And do  _not_  ask me how I know that, because that escapade involved  _way_  more alcohol than somebody with my rank should consume on a diplomatic visit, even  _if_  the local Guard invited me into a drinking contest..”

Faithful Shield, on the other hand, paled drastically, a deep, onset terror materializing in his eyes. “‘She reeks of the blood of countless enemies...’” He breathed in horror. “‘A smell she revels in and accept without question, taking joy in how it instills an unending terror in her foes.’”

Shining Armor shot the frightened pony a wide-eyed look. “You  _know_  who smells like this!?”

Faithful Shield nodded numbly. “Somewhat. She’s a legend. One of three. And if she’s here... then there’s a fair chance  _she’s_  here as well. And they’re both going to want to kill us. Well...”

 He chuckled darkly, slowly starting to step forwards. “At the least, they’re  _definitely_ going to want to kill me.”

“Wh-!?” The white Unicorn sputtered. “Then why the hell are you going forwards?! We should-!”

“No use.” Faithful Shield shook his head miserably. “There’s one part of the legend that’s persistent: If you can smell her, then you’re too late. She can  _already_  smell you.”

Shining Armor glanced around hesitantly before reluctantly following behind the soldier.

“After all, it’s just a fact of life...”

The pair rounded the corner and simultaneously reeled back in shock, barely restraining themselves from vomiting.

Faithful Shield finished in a sickened voice. “You can’t escape the Wolf.”

_“HAHAHAHA!_  YOU GOT THAT DAMN RIGHT, FUCK-ASS!”

What laid before the pair could best be defined as the remnants of a massacre. A full platoon of corpses was strewn about the square, their blood and innards staining the floor and walls. Their bodies were in varying states of destruction, but one thing was assured: not a single one of them was whole. Some had varying parts of them shorn off, be it their torsos, limbs or their heads. Others... others weren’t anywhere _near_  as clean. About half of them looked like they had been either  _torn_ to pieces or had chunks of them  _bitten_  out.

The two perpetrators of the crime, both female, were standing in the exact center of the carnage, staring at the two ponies.

The one on the left appeared to be a child, standing only about four and a half feet tall. She was clad entirely in black. She was wearing a black shawl with a white fur fringes and white laces with a pair of similarly colored tassels. She had a coat with the same design beneath it. She had a pair of knee-high white lace-up boots on her feet. She was wearing a black bucket hat and had a curtain of short black hair that parted over her eyes. Perhaps most disturbing of all were the two lines of stitches that ran up her face, meeting perpendicularly between her piercing blue and emotionless eyes. She had the cold, frigid air of death around her. Someone who was so used to killing that it was boring. Clinical. A fact of life.

The other, on the other hand... if the shorter person was cold, then she was demonic. Everything about her, from her stance to her rabid grin, just  _screamed_  ‘predator’. She was wearing dark blue leather pants, boots and a jacket with metallic braces affixed to her joints. Her jacket was open with no shirt beneath to hide her bare skin. She had long, ghostly blue hair that ran down her back. Latched around her head was what appeared to be a metallic pair of blood-red square headphones with dials on them. She had piercing red eyes that stared at them hungrily, her tongue sliding over her spiked teeth and blood-stained lips. Running directly beneath her eyes and over the bridge of her nose was a line of stitches, similar to another that seemed to encircle her throat. Perhaps most disturbing of all was what she held in her hand: a leg from one of the corpses, several prominent bite-marks in it.

“Well, well, well,” The taller one cackled madly. “Lookie here! Two more shithead lambs to the fucking slaughter!” To the disgust and horror of the two ponies, she brought the dismembered leg up to her mouth and tore a chunk out of it with her fangs. “Jus’ my lucky fucking day!” She got out through her messy chewing.

The shorter individual rolled her eyes in exasperation. “You just  _love_  the fear factor, don’t you?” She muttered. “Either way...” She refocused her attention on the ponies. “Shining Armor. We have been looking for you.”

Shining Armor swallowed his bile as he stared at the two in abject horror. “W-who  _are_  you!? And why would you be looking for me!?”

“Gavrill the Wolf and Veronica the Shredder,” Faithful Shield breathed. “Franken Fran’s sisters.”

“HA!” Gavrill barked out. “Sweet! My name’s lasted long enough to become a boogeyman! And as for you...” She looked at the shorter girl contemplatively. “The Shredder? Eh, it’s decent. I’ll give you  _that_  much.”

Veronica ignored her, continuing to emotionlessly observe the ponies. “In response to your questions, I am Veronica Madaraki, and this is my eldest sister, Gavrill Madaraki. We’ve been searching for you because Scholar ordered us to protect you.”

“S-Scholar?!” Shining Armor gasped in shock. “What do you-!?”

“He’s the one who  _created_  them.” Shield answered quietly. “Just like the Twins. They’re his creations, and if they’ve been informed of what rides on your head, then they’ll protect you.”

“W-well...” Shining looked at the field of dead for a moment before swallowing heavily and gritting his teeth. “Alright then. Fine. So be it. You both make me sick to my stomach, but we’re in the middle of a war with a majority of the opposing faction wanting me personally dead. I’d rather stick with someone who wants help me rather than kill me,” He glared at them vehemently. “No matter how vile they might be.”

Veronica nodded in agreement. “That works.”

Suddenly, she disappeared in a blur and reappeared between the two. In the interim, her right arm had shifted. Where once there had been a human hand was now a pole of metal with a crescent-shaped scythe affixed to the end. Her arm was raised up above Faithful Shield’s neck.

Just as the blade came down, the ponies were engulfed in a flash of pink light. In the next instant, the scythe dropped through the air and buried itself in the ground.

Veronica narrowed her eyes at her weapon-arm accusingly before turning to glare at the spatially displaced ponies.

Shining Armor panted from the exertion of the teleport. “What the  _hell_  do you think you’re doing!?” He grit out.

“Trying to kill me.”

The captain snapped his head around to face Faithful Shield, balking at the dead look in his eyes.

“She already said it...” Shield groaned miserably. “They’re here to protect  _you._  Me? I’m a grunt. Disposable,” He gave Shining Armor a shaky grin. “At least  _one_  of us will survive.”

“Well, you’re  _half_  right, fuckwit!”

Faithful glanced over his shoulder for a second before hastily tackling Shining Armor.

Not a second too soon. If he had been a second too late _,_  then the both of them would have been cleaved in half by Gavrill as she raked her suddenly massive and clawed arm through the space the two had occupied.

Shining Armor and Faithful Shield rolled along the ground for a second before staggering to their hooves and backing away from the murderously grinning monster.

“What the hell was  _that!?”_  Shining Armor panted.

“What do you think you’re playing at, Gavrill!?” Veronica demanded furiously. “Scholar told us to  _protect_  Shining Armor! I don’t care what you do to the spare, but the captain is off-limits!”

_“Fuck_  what Scholar said!” The fanged human snarled. “He just wants us to keep this shithead alive for a fucking bet. If he had tactical value or something like that, then fine! Fuck it! I’d bite my tongue and take my lumps. Better than the alternative. But this?” Her grin went from blood-thirsty to savage. “Oh-hoh, with  _this_  I can do what I want with him. And what I want is to rip  _both_  their heads off!”

“It was a  _direct_  order,  _sister,”_  Veronica intoned darkly. She snapped her scythe-arm up and pointed it at Gavrill. “Don’t think I’ll let you disobey them so lightly.”

Gavrill’s slasher smile widened a few fangs. “Awwww, you think you can take me? That’s cute.” Her grin widened even further, far more than should have been possible. “Real  _fucking_  cute.”

Shining Armor and Faithful Shield watched the two stare each other down silently, barely keeping from flinching as the sparks flew.

Slowly, the captain leaned over to his subordinate. “Well, they’re distracted. Want to make a run for it before they notice us?”

Due to not turning his head, he was unable to notice Faithful Shield frantically shaking his head.

Thankfully, he  _did_  notice the projectile flying towards them just in time to flash up a shield and catch the double-bladed knife before it went straight through Faithful Shield’s eye.

Slowly, the two turned their heads away from the projectile and caught sight of the sisters glaring at them both, Veronica’s hand still outstretched.

“Now do you see what you almost did?” She demanded coldly. “If we’d started fighting, it would have taken forever for us to find them again!”

“Tch, yeah, yeah...” Gavrill groused as she tore another chunk out of her dismembered pony leg. Suddenly, she brightened up and grinned savagely. “Saaaay... I’ve got a helluva compromise for ya!”

“If it’s the Lazarus gambit, don’t even start,”  Veronica cut her off. “Chrysalis sunk that idea when she invoked the Law of Inheritance.”

“Yeah, he said we can’t take him in alive...” The elder sister mused before swallowing her meat down and grinning bloodily. “But he never really said ‘whole’ now, did he?”

The younger sister blinked in surprise. “Care to elaborate?”

“Eh, easy enough. We rip his limbs off and drag his ass back to sis. Then, she stitches him up so that he’s presentable. No fuss, no muss,” Gavrill chuckled savagely. “Just a  _whole_  lot of fun.”

Shining Armor didn’t miss the miserable whimper Faithful Shield let out. He slowly tilted his head towards him and whispered him a question. “Their sister... Franken Fran, right? How bad is she?”

It was obvious from Shield’s voice that he was seconds away from a breakdown. “If they end up being close to dragging you away to her, I’ll do you a favor and mercy-kill you. And if at any point over the last few minutes we’ve spent together you’ve considered me your friend, I’ll expect you to do the same.”

Shining Armor paled and swallowed heavily. “Agreed.”

“Hmm...” Veronica tapped her lip in thought for a second  before grinning and nodding in acceptance. “Very well then. That is a sound plan.”

“Perfect...” Gavrill slowly raised her hand to one of her headphones, placing her hand on the dial. “And the extra?”

Veronica shrugged indifferently. “Do with him as you will.”

Gavrill cackled joyfully as she yanked the dial on her headphones to the max.  _“Fan-fucking-tastic!”_

Shining Armor swallowed heavily as he glanced back and forth between the two monsters. “Any chance that we can hold them both off?”

“Eeeh...” Faithful Shield waved his hoof side to side in the air.

The younger sister’s left arm shot up into her torso and was replaced by a pair of double-edged sword-blades. One was straight, while the other had several uniform spikes of metal on the side facing the other blade.

Meanwhile, the elder’s body suddenly started shifting. Her body began to bulk up, with her limbs and torso taking on several extra pounds of bone and muscle. She suddenly fell forward onto her clawed hands. Her jaws also jutted out from her face, forming a veritable monstrous muzzle that was leering greedily at the two of them.

“Yeah, no.”

“Right...” Shining Armor backed away slowly from the advancing pair. “Any chance we can make a run for it?”

“One has a nose capable of sniffing out a flea in a pack of pigs while the other’s ears are accurate enough to hear an ant fart in a crowd,” Shield deadpanned. “Honestly, there’s only one idea I can think of.”

Gavrill let out a harsh, cynical laugh. “Oh yeah, little pony? And what’s-?”

_BANG!_

The monstrous creature kept its eyes shut for a second... before reopening them and letting out another laugh. “Did you re-!?”

_BANG!_

“ARGH!” Gavrill spat out furiously, collapsing on her side and clawing at her eyes and ears. Veronica was in the same situation, clutching at her ears painfully.

Shining Armor panted furiously as he and Faithful Shield galloped down the street. “How did you know that would work?”

“Well...” The soldier grit out. “They have control of their own biology, so I knew the second they saw the flashbang, they’d shut their eyes and ears off. So, I sent out a second one right behind it to catch them just as they got them working again, catching them head on.”

“That... was gutsy. If it didn’t work...”

“But it did! That’s what counts! So now, I’d say we have about...”

**“ROOOOAAAAAR!”**

Faithful Shield swallowed heavily and increased his pace, trying his best to stay ahead of the heavy stomping sound behind them. “A few seconds lead. In here!” He quickly hung right and started ascending a covered staircase, Shining Armor right behind him.

They got about sixty, seventy steps up the stairs before the sound of shattering above their heads forced them to a halt.

If they’d kept going, they would have been crushed. Gavrill jumped above them, kicking off from the high walls and wheeling around in the air to face them as she landed heavily on the staircase, slobber dripping from her slavering jaws.

A quick glance over their shoulders confirmed that the way back was blocked by Veronica, her serene facade broken by a small yet nevertheless malevolent bloodthirsty smirk and light dancing over her blades.

“Hehehehe...” Gavrill chuckled darkly. “Looky looky looky... two lost little piggies walking into the butchershop! You’re gonna make a fucking  _delicious_  pot roast.”

“Oh yeah?” Shining Armor snarled, lighting his horn up. “Well this pig’s not going down without a  _fight!”_

Faithful Shield bit his lip hesitantly as he glanced over at his superior, nervously eyeing the advancing monsters.

“HAHAHA!” The beast in front of them cackled, raising her arm high. “Say goodnight, pi-!”

BOOM!

“-ARGH!”

CRASH!

Suddenly, the wall to Gavrill’s right imploded. The blast slammed into her before she could react and sent her straight through the opposite wall and out of sight.

Shining Armor raised his foreleg to his eyes, wincing from the sting of the resulting smoke and dust. “W-what on  _Mundus-!?”_

**“BAHAHAHAHA! BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!”**

The ponies and Veronica reeled back in surprise from the sudden outburst. As the smoke cleared, Shining Armor couldn’t help but gape in shock.

“Null!?”

The red golem swung around, staring madly at the ponies. His eyes held a far more manic,  _insane_  look then they’d ever held before. The possible cause was a massive, jagged greatsword he held clutched in his hands. Unlike his previous swords, instead of being red itself, it seemed to be  _engulfed_  in a blood-red aura. Running up and down the flat of the blade were jagged glowing runes, dissimilar from the ones that Scholar normally used. Perhaps most disturbing of all was the skull inlaid into the sword’s hilt.

Veronica groaned in exasperation, shifting her arms back to normal and palming her face. “Oh great, he’s possessed again...”

“This... is going to be painful.” Faithful Shield groaned as he took several cautious steps back, his ears flattening against his head.

**“HAHAHAHA!”**  Null bellowed, swinging his sword up to bear.  **“SKULLS FOR THE SKULL THRONE!”**

Shining Armor quickly flashed up a shield. The sword sparked against the pink barrier for a moment...

“DAMN IT, NULL!”

BLAM!

Before he was knocked away by a blast of green magic.

Nix huffed as she floated through the hole in the wall, rubbing her orb-shaped head tiredly. “Stupid, stupid,  _stupid_  idiot. Honestly, I know he enjoys the rush of letting those things try and take him over, but it can still be freaking  _annoying._  Ah well. Now then...” She turned and narrowed her eyes eagerly at the soldiers. “Shining Armor! I’ve been looking for you.”

_“Nix!”_

The golem looked up past the ponies and reeled back in shock. “Veronica!?” She gasped quietly before squeeing eagerly. “VERONICA!” She zipped past the soldiers and engulfed the black-cled girl in a hug. “Oh, it’s so good to see you again!”

“Hahaha!” Veronica giggled joyfully, eagerly returning the hug. “Nix! I’m so glad you and Null are alright! We didn’t know what happened, Fran sealed Madaraki Manor and us with it before the Princesses could find us!”

“We went down in a blaze of glory trying to free Scholar! Geeze, we didn’t even  _remember_  that you two existed! Fran did a hell of a job!”

Veronica nodded and chuckled in agreement. “I know, right? She’s simply amazing! She’ll be so happy to know you’re both okay!”

“Right, right. But first...” Nix trailed off slightly before turning around to stare at the frozen forms of Shining Armor and Faithful Shield. “I’m assuming you know the mission?”

Veronica tilted her head slightly before smiling darkly. “Oh yes. Gavrill devised a most  _ingenious_  plan. Just to confirm, did the bet specify Shining Armor’s... physical condition?”

Nix’s eyes narrowed eagerly as emerald sparks began to waft up from her hands. “No. No it did  _not.”_

Acting on impulse, Faithful Shield whipped around and tried to bolt up the staircase. He didn’t get very far before Veronica suddenly blurred ahead of him and halted him with a sword inches from his nose. “Stand still...” She breathed darkly.

“Yeah...” Nix giggled madly, engulfing her arms in infernos of green flames. “We’re going to protect the  _shit_  out of you!”

Shining Armor lit his horn up again, getting ready to fight.

But before he could...

CRASH!

_“GYAH!?”_

“MOTHERFUCKING PIECE OF SHIT!”

Gavrill came crashing through the stairwell’s right wall, slamming into Nix and carrying her through the opposite wall.

Veronica blinked in surprise and lowered her weapons. “Um... what just-?”

**“BLEED IN THE NAME OF KHORNE!”**

“ACK!”

Suddenly, Null rocketed through the hole he’d made, barreling into Veronica and launching her through his initial point of entry.

Shining Armor and Faithful Shield blinked numbly as they tried to process what had just occurred.

“Captain?” Faithful Shield whispered. “I’m not crazy, right? That all just happened?”

“I don’t know,” Shining Armor responded blankly. “And honestly? I’d rather not stick around in case they come back and try to ‘protect’ me into an early grave.”

And with that, the two took off up the staircase in search of safety.

  
**-o-**  

“Null, give me that- Null, I said- Null,  _Null!_  DAMN IT, NULL! GIVE ME THE FUCKING SWORD!”

**“FOOLISH MORTAL! NONE MAY DICTATE THE ACTIONS OF-!”**

SLAP!

“-OW! Damn it, Nix, that hurt!”

“Does it look like I care!? Urgh, stupid sword. It’s sure as hell trying to possess me. Seriously, I don’t get why the hell you like messing around with these things.”

“Well hell, I personally think that it’s kind of-! Heyheyhey, watch what you’re doing, that’s an-!”

CRACK!

“...antique.  _Niiiiix!”_

“That was a Khornate Greatsword, Null. A  _weapon_ of mass destruction! Not. A.  _Toy!”_

“...there’s a difference?”

“GAHAHAHA! You little fuckers haven’t changed a bit.”

“Shut up, Gavrille.”

“Quiet, sister.”

“Bite me. Either way, it was still valuable!”

“Brother, because of it we lost track of the target!”

“No we didn’t! Gavrill can track him down, right Gavy?”

“First, don’t fucking call me that. And second, wrong.”

“See, she can-  _WHAT!?”_

“Khornate magic reeks of blood. Normally I like it, but right now it’s blocking out Shining Armor’s smell. It’ll take awhile to track him down, fuckwit.”

“... right, so... I’m just gonna go ahead and... float over here... take some... inventory... yeah...”

“Ergh. My brother, ladies and gentleman. A genius of war.”

“Sister, I have to ask, where  _were_  you, anyways? And why was Null using a possessor item? It looked like he was coming down off the high he uses them for when in the heat of a big fight.”

“Eh, we were dealing with a Gem Custodian. Seath sicked it on Shining Armor. It had a lance with a  _hell_ of a blast to it. Null whipped the Greatsword out and kicked its ass, but it fell into the Subarchives before I could finish it off. With any luck, we’ll find the good captain before it finds him.”

“Heh, that fucking figures. Well, let’s get to it! Hey Null, quit moping and get your shitty ass in gear!”

“...”

“Umm... Brother are you-?”

“...Ia.”

“Brother?”

“Ia.  _Ia! Ia!”_

“Wait, is he holding-? Ergh,  _Null!_ Ha ha, very funny, now cut it-!”

_“Ia! Ia! Cthu_ _**lhu Fhtagn!”** _

“...Null?”

“Sister, I’ve got a bad feeling about this...”

“Shit, something’s wrong with him!”

**“P̘͓̮̙̟̬̠͗͛̈h̗̰̻̗͆ͣͤ̏'͕̲̭͈̠́ͪͣṉ̉̿̒̈́̃g͎̎l̪͖͇̲̮̰ͧ̀ͫ̆ǘ̦͇̜̬̹͋̎͌i̥͈̖̟̺͒́̈́̃ ͖͋̈́̌̆͗̃ͅṁ̟̻͈̪ͥͥ̋ĝ̯̫͎̱̤ͯ̾̌l̮̪͇̹̩͑w͇͍̫'̗̹̘͐͗͛̃̎ͯ͒n͔̺̗̪̼ͣͦͪ͛̌̂ͅa͍̖͂̈̽̿͑ͩf͉̱̭̖͎͍̩ͤ͌͆̈̽̅͌h͚̀̿̊ͪ́̆ ́̑̒̊̾ͩCͯt̗̰͔̣̪̘́ḫ̟̟͋u̠͕͖̰͉ͧ̆ḻ̾̇ͯ̽̅̽̚ẖ̫͈̗̄ͮ̽͌͛͆̿ủ̼ͣ͆̌͂ ͨ̐̈̓̂̿R̙̤̠̖̠'̻̰͈̠̩̉͋̑ḻ̞̺̔̾y̜̭̗̮̠e͌̇̎͊h̙̫̖͙̟̫̓̏ͅ ͓̥̲̪̏͊ͥw͚̤͌̇g͚̬̗̲̯̝ͬa͈͉̺̘̤͇ͩͪͅh͉͈̊͂̓ͫ̎̚'n̪͈͚̮ͩ̃ͯ̿̓̌a͙̗͙̍̾ͨ͆g̟̫̮͐́̂͗ͭ̅ľ͙͙ͪͤ̆̒ͪ ̗̝̝ͯ̀ͩͫͥ͛̃f͍̲̭h̦̆̍ͭt͇̦̪̘̮͔a̠̩̠̙͎̗ͫͤg̰͕͔̲ͭͪ̌ͭ̌n̞̦̥̏̆!̤͎̫̚”**

_“NULL!”_

**-o-**

Faithful Shield and Shining Armor groaned as they leaned up against the wall of the alleyway they were hiding in.

“We... are doing this...  _way_  too much lately...” Faithful Shield groaned.

“It’s like basic all over again...” Shining Armor concurred. “Save that Martial Law isn’t barking down my ears...” He sighed heavily before slowly climbing to his hooves. “Well, come on. No point sticking around. We’d better keep moving.”

“Er... actually...”

The captain glanced over his shoulder in confusion at the frowning soldier. “See...” Faithful Shield continued uneasily. “There’s something I want to talk with you about.”

Shining Armor blinked in confusion and turned around to face him fully. “What’s on your mind?”

Faithful Shield bit his lip momentarily before sighing heavily.  “Captain... the entire time we’ve been wandering around, every time we’ve run into someone... you only ever ran away when  _I_  did. All you did was engage, try to push the offensive.”

The white Unicorn frowned and tilted his head to the side. “Well... yeah, so?”

The other unicorn gave his superior a flat look. “Sir, forgive me if this sounds like a stupid question, but... what the  _hell_  were you thinking!?”

Shining Armor reeled back in shock. “What!?”

“Permission to be brutally honest, sir?”

The captain snorted for a second before turning around and trotting out of the alleyway, gesturing for Faithful Shield to follow. “Reluctantly granted, soldier.”

“Alright then...” The soldier snorted as he walked behind the officer. “To be frank, what you’ve been pulling so far is downright _boneheaded._  I mean, these people are  _ridiculously_  powerful! We know that the Oligarchs don’t like to be worshipped, but it’s widely acknowledged that they  _are_  akin to gods. And their closest followers are just as insanely strong! Trying to fight them head on, without any plans or without any forethought is... it’s suicidal!”

Shining Armor grit his teeth and bowed his head. “... I  _know_  that it’s not a good idea.”

Faithful Shield’s jaw dropped open in shock. “But...” He tried to search for a response. “Then why...?”

_“Because it’s my duty!”_  Shining Armor wheeled around and snarled fiercely. “I don’t know how it was back then, but allow me to explain to you the duty of the Captain of the Guard  _today._  These days, being the captain signifies one duty, and one duty alone: protection. It’s my _duty_  to protect Equestria and all who dwell within. I  _know_  that I’m not strong enough to beat them, damn it. I know that. But even  _if_  I can’t beat them, then I can still  _damn well_  draw their attention. I’m the shield, so they’ll focus on  _me._  No one else but me gets hurt.  _That’s_  my duty as a captain.  _That_  is why I always go on the offensive. First to charge, first to fall. I have to shoulder Equestria’s pain. No one else. Do you understand, soldier?”

Faithful Shield stared at him silently for a moment before nodding in acceptance. “Yes... I understand.”

“Good.” Shining Armor turned around and began trotting down the street again. “Now, let’s-!”

“I understand that that is a fucking  _stupid_  duty.”

_“WHAT!?”_   Shining Armor roared, whipping back around. “You listen here, soldier-!”

“No, you listen,  _captain!”_  Faithful Shield spat out, jabbing his superior in the chest. “I can appreciate dedication, but there is a  _line_  between being dedicated and being  _suicidal._  Look, allow  _me_  to tell you the duty of the captain. Yes, you are supposed to protect others.  _Yes,_  you should shoulder the pain.  _But that does_ not _give you carte blanche to die!”_

“I-!”

_“Did I say you could speak, captain!?”_  Faithful Shield demanded. “Now you listen here: you’re supposed to protect everypony, true enough. But let me ask you this: what happens after you die, hm? What happens then!? Who protects everypony then?” The soldier stamped his hoof definitively. “What happens to your sister, to Cadance, to everyone you left behind? What happens to everyone else!? If your job is to protect everyone, then make sure you do it  _right!_  Make sure you’re around to  _always_  protect them! For their sake, make sure you  _live_! And if you’re not strong enough to protect them? You’re up against a threat you  _know_  you can’t beat? Well then, I’ve only got one thing to say to you.”

He leaned in until he was face to face with the officer. “Back off, think things through, and get. Stronger. You play it smart and make _damn_  certain that nothing,  _nothing_  can hurt Equestria  _ever_  again!”

Shining Armor opened and shut his mouth for a moment. His face went through the gamut of emotions, ranging from furious to terrified to miserable. Finally, his visage became blank. Pensive. Slowly, he turned around and paced away from Faithful Shield.

Shield made to follow before halting in his tracks. He turned his head left and right for a moment before trotting towards a staircase in an alleyway that led downwards. The Unicorn illuminated his horn and stuck his head into the shadows, looking around curiously.

Finally, after taking only a few steps, Shining Armor halted in his tracks. He sighed heavily and hung his head. “You... you’re right. Celestia damn it, I’ve been such an  _idiot._  I’ve just been thinking about myself, about my duty... but I should have been thinking of everyone else. I... _I_  decided that was my duty. Celestia never told me to do it, Luna didn’t, Cadance didn’t...  _I_  did. It’s just... it’s always been my family’s duty, you know? Since... well, since your time, we’ve been doing our best to protect Equestria. I... I guess I’ve just always thought that taking it to the absolute maximum was the right thing to do.”

Shining Armor was silent for another minute before shaking his head. “Faithful Shield...  _thank you._  If I’m really being honest, I think I’ve needed someone to get my head on straight for awhile. If not for you... I really owe you a lot. Heck...” He let out a morbid chuckle. “Without you , I wouldn’t even be  _alive_  right now. I’m not sure what I’d do without you.”

“Well sir... you might want to figure that out...” Faithful Shield’s voice wafted through the air behind the captain, weak and tired.

Shining Armor blinked in confusion and turned to face his subordinate. “What are you talking abo-ARGH!” He recoiled in horror at what he saw.

“Because... you see sir...” Faithful Shield stared morosely at the crystal spear of the intimidating Gem Custodian before him that was lodged in his barrel. “I’m... not gonna be around... much longer...” He let out a hacking cough, sending blood and saliva flying.

Before Shining Armor could react, the crystal statue’s limbs shifted, lifting the spear it was holding into the air and Faithful Shield with it. It then flicked the spear down roughly, sending Faithful Shield hurtling towards Shining Armor.

The white unicorn was barely able to flare his magic up in time to catch his hurtling comrade, grunting from the resulting exertion of the task. He only had a minute to look over his profusely bleeding friend’s chest before a horrifyingly familiar shadow fell over the two of them. A quick glance upwards confirmed that the construct had leapt into the air and was falling straight towards the pair, spear first.

Shining Armor prepared to flash up a shield...

ZAP!

And blinked in shock when he was suddenly displaced in a flash of light. He and Shield were several meters up the street from the construct, whose weapon was currently buried in the street.

“CLOSE RANKS!”

In a flurry of rattling shields and armor, a line of soldiers made their way in front of the two, locking their shields together and activating several runes on their respective armors.

One of the soldiers, a Unicorn, glanced back at Shining Armor and snapped up a salute. “Captain Shining Armor! We’ll handle this from here, you keep the corporal safe!”

Shining Armor opened his mouth to protest... before glancing at Faithful Shield’s bleeding form and changing his mind. “I... alright. Keep safe, soldier, that’s an order!”

The Unicorn nodded in understanding. “Alright. Good luck, sir!”

With that, his horn lit up and the pair were engulfed in another flash. When the light faded, the captain and corporal were in a back alley. Judging from the nearby sound of magic blasts and fighting, they were only a few meters away from where they’d been.

Shining Armor hastily propped Faithful Shield up against the wall, his eyes focused on the hole in Shield’s midsection. His mind immediately locked into his training, pressing his hooves down on the area around the wound and producing a shield around it, pressing down in an attempt to staunch the bleeding. “Alright, just-just calm down, soldier. You’ll be fine, you’ll be just fine! I-I just need to-to-!”

“Captain...” Faithful Shield groaned weakly as he held a hoof up. His blood-stained lips were curled into a rueful smile. “With... all due respect... that’s a load of shit...  _hurk!”_  He let out a body-wracking cough. “M-my stomach... damn Custodian. Hell of a fighter. Anyways...” He shook his head weakly. “I’m done.”

“I-I- _no!”_  Shining Armor shook his head in denial. “Just-just try and stay awake, Shield! Stay awake!”

“Say... boss...” Faithful Shield mumbled blearily. “You think... you could do me a favor? Somethin’... that needs doing.”

“You’ll be able to do it yourself, Shield, just-!”

_“Shining Armor!”_  The wounded soldier bit out viciously. “Listen to me, damn it. Back left pocket. T-there’s a locket. Get it for me.”

The captain seriously considered protesting... until finally he acquiesced without a word, freeing a hoof to pat down Faithful Shield’s armor and locate the standard issue hidden pocket. From within it, he withdrew a plain golden locket, which he held in front of Faithful Shield’s face.

Shield’s horn flickered weakly for a moment before engulfing the locket in a white aura. An unseen movement triggered the mechanism and let it swing open.

Inside was a simple picture: Faithful Shield, smiling happily as he stood shoulder to shoulder with an equally happy orange mare with a light gray mane. Seated on Shield’s back was a young filly, with a radiant yellow coat and pure white mane.

Shining Armor blinked at the picture in surprise. “Your family?” He then paled, his pupils shrinking in horror.

Faithful Shield all but read his mind and scowled angrily. “H-hey, watch it. They’re being monsters towards us because... we’re the enemy. They... they wouldn’t stoop that low. And... besides...” His eyes were filled with a deep sadness. “I was stationed here in Vitrum... they stayed back home... at the base in- _hurk!-_  Canterlot...”

“Oh.  _Oh!_ ” Shining Armor’s eyes widened in realization and a minute amount of pity. “I...”

“Yeah...” Faithful Shield nodded weakly in agreement. “Anyways... for whatever it’s worth... I think there’s a good chance of you getting out of here. So...” He pressed the locket into Shining Armor’s hoof with his magic. “I want you... to take this... and... give it to my... next of... kin... whoever they might be.”

“I...” The white unicorn shook his head desperately. “Shield, it’s been over a thousand  _years,_  how could I possibly-?”

“M-my daughter... She’ll be - _ugh!-_  in the military records...” Faithful Shield winced, his every word taking a load of effort. He then smiled weakly. “You’re not... the only guy... whose family has a military history... That picture... six years old and already playing soldier...” He let out a hoarse laugh. “I guess it’s in our blood. If... there’s no one left... leave it on her grave, alright?”

Shining Armor was deathly silent, staring numbly at his dying friend before slowly nodding. “I’ll... I’ll need a name.”

Shield shakily raised his hoof and pointed out the mare next to him. “My wife... Radiant Dawn... and...” He moved it over to the filly. “”My daughter... Sheltering Hope.”

Hearing the name, Shining Armor’s brow scrunched up in confusion before his jaw dropped open in numb shock. “I... I know her.”

Faithful Shield’s eyes widened in surprise. “R-really?” He wheezed.

Shining Armor nodded mutely. “Yeah... F-from a story. A few years after Vitrum disappeared, Princess Luna... she was... possessed, I suppose. She became a dark creature known as Nightmare Moon, and tried to shroud Equestria in eternal night. Princess Celestia defeated her and sealed her in the moon, and my sister and her friends save her, but... the few days it took Celestia to defeat Nightmare Moon, the sun didn’t rise and the night drew on. Ponies were panicking and no one knew what to do. Until... a single blank-flank recruit stepped up. She... she used her magic to conjure a-an  _unparalleled_ pillar of light. It reached out all over Equestria, spreading light and hope to all who saw it. She supported those who were afraid, protected them from the dark. She got her cutie mark midway through it without even noticing: A pure white shield, with a yellow star in the middle and white wings sticking out of the sides. And her name... was Sheltering Hope.”

Faithful Shield’s eyes lit up with joy. “M-my girl... my little girl... was a hero? She’s got a legend?”

Shining Armor grimaced and shook his head. “I-I’m afraid not. Hope’s exploits were eclipsed by Celestia sealing Nightmare Moon. Her... her story faded into the background. I’m sorry.”

Faithful Shield blinked before smiling sadly. “Doesn’t... doesn’t matter. She was a hero... th-that’s what matters.” He then furrowed his brow in confusion. “But... how do you know it?”

“Umm...” Shining Armor rubbed his forehead in thought. “It’s hazy... my father... he told it to me. He said that... that...”

Shining Armor’s eyes slowly widened in shock as the memory came to him. Slowly, he turned his head and stared incredulously at Faithful Shield.

“That... he always wanted me to remember where our family came from.”

The wounded soldier blinked blearily for a second before snickering. Said snickering evolved into full-blown laughter. “Ha. Ha ha...HAHAHAHA- _HURK!_ ” He groaned and pressed a hoof to his chest. “Y-yeah, shouldn’t a done that. Still, though... looks like we were right earlier: DNA. It’s a scary thing, ain’t it?” He raised his hooves up and clasped Shining Armor’s his smile all but splitting his skull. “Either way, best kind of mission, huh kid? The one where it completes itself. Great, isn’t it?”

Shining Armor shook his head weakly. “I-I- this just isn’t fair. We just found out, we-!”

His mounting panic was cut off by a raised hoof.

“Kid...” Faithful  Shield muttered weakly, a smile on his lips. “Let me tell you... I’ve only known you for less than an hour. But... I can say... with  _absolute_  confidence... that you have made me... and  _all_  of our family proud. So...  _proud._  You’ve gone... above and beyond... your duty. And... you upheld... the family’s promise...”

Shining Armor blinked in confusion. “Promise? What promise?”

Shield blinked blearily before nodding weakly. “Oh yeah... I never told Hope... And I doubt Dawn would have told her...”

“What promise?” Shining Armor pleaded, clasping Faithful Shield’s hoof desperately. “Shield,  _what promise?”_

Faithful Shield opened his mouth... and let out a body-wracking cough, sending blood flying. “It was... the promise... our forefathers made... to Celestia... and Luna... when they joined the guard. That... our family... would forever protect... would... forever protect...”

“Protect what? Protect  _what?”_

Faithful Shield slowly leaned his head back and rested it on the wall, closing his eyes and letting a smile ghost across his face. “That we would... protect...”

Shining Armor leaned in, trying to catch his ancestor’s final words.

_“Protect... the heart... of... Equestria...”_

And with that, Faithful Shield let out a final breath, smiling contentedly. His hoof slipped from Shining Armor’s leaving him holding the locket.

Shining Armor stared at his deceased ancestor numbly, absent mindedly slipping the locket into  his own armor’s pocket. He stood there for a moment before biting his lip and scrunching his eyes shut. Despite his attempts to prevent it from occurring, tears leaked out of the corners of his eyes and down his cheeks.

Suddenly, the sound of a massive explosion snapped him out of his misery.

The captain glanced over his shoulder momentarily before staring mournfully at Faithful Shield’s corpse. Finally, he swallowed heavily and lit his horn up. An array of shields flashed before the body before a final one covered them all, blending in to match the wall and hiding him from sight.

The job done, Shining Armor began to trot out of the alley.

Midway out, he stopped, glancing over his shoulder. He fished the locket out of his armor with his magic, staring at it mournfully a final time before shoving it away and galloping out of the alley.

**-o-**

The street was littered with bodies. Miraculously, close to two dozen or so of them were intact and groaning in pain.

About half a dozen weren’t  _quite_  as intact and were doing a bit more than groaning.

The rest... those that weren’t intact were  _far_  from intact. Or solid, for that matter.

The Gem Custodian stomped through the bodies on its hindhooves, spear dragging on the ground as it slowly swept its head from side to side. Finally, it came up to one of the groaning soldiers.

Without any hint of emotion, it raised a hoof up and planted it on the pony’s breastplate, holding him down despite his feeble protests. Slowly, it raised its dragon-headed spear up and pointed it straight at the soldier’s face. Said soldier’s protests became far more panicked as arcane lightning began to crackle and gather at the spear’s tip.

But before it could fire...

“HEY!”

The Gem Custodian’s head whipped around just in time to receive a high-speed ball-shaped projectile of magic straight in the muzzle. The blow took the construct straight off its feet and launched it down the road. The Custodian tumbled for a few seconds before flipping itself right-side up and planting its spear  in the ground. It tore up the ground a bit before finally grinding to a stop, glaring venomously, if blindly, up the street towards its aggressor.

Shining Armor returned the glare in turn, his horn lit up and several layers of shields surrounding him.

“My name is Shining Armor,” He growled darkly. “You killed my I-don’t-know-how-many-greats-grandfather. Prepare to die.”


	20. Ascend and Plummet

Shining Armor breathed calmly through his nose as he stared down the Custodian.

The golem watched him blankly, tapping its spear on the ground lightly as it observed its prey.

_‘Alright, Shining, let’s play it smart...’_  Shining Armor thought. _‘Watch out for his lance. Watch out for the soldiers. Fight to protect them...’_ He lit his horn up brighter than before, reinforcing his shields. _‘Fight to_ live.’

The silence drew on interminably.

**-o-**

“Well well well...” Seath mused as he gazed down into the circle of crystal in the ground that he had illuminated and was showing the faceoff. “It appears that your bet has gone into... sudden de-!”

THWAP!

“OUCH!” The dragon yelped, whipping a hand to his throbbing skull.

“Apologies, father,” Priscilla sighed as she appeared from thin air. “But someone had to, otherwise I fear your friends would have intervened.”

Seath muttered darkly under his breath but nodded in agreement all the same.

“Still...” Chrysalis grinned eagerly. “Despite the horrible pun, he’s right. One way or another, this is all going to end very soon.”

“With five minutes on the clock? No doubt about it,” Scholar nodded, “This is going to be interesting.”

“Well, it’s a good thing that I got back in time!”

Scholar blinked in surprise as he looked up before grinning eagerly. “Gilda! How was the hunt?”

Gilda chuckled heartily, flapping her wings heavily as she landed in the plaza. “It went perfectly! Both Arcus and Sagitta are rottin’ on the spires!”

Rainbow Dash flinched at the open and eager bloodlust, but discretely rapped on her cage’s wall nonetheless. “Gilda!” She hissed under her breath. “Listen to me,  _please!”_

The griffon twitched as she registered the noise, but merely drew her wings up, creating a curtain of metal and feathers. “Buzz off, dweeb.” She mumbled half-heartedly.

Rainbow Dash made to speak up, but before she could...

“The Incredible and Terrific Trixie returns victorious!”

“As does Iron Will.”

Attention shifted from the griffon to the unicorn and minotaur as they stomped up the stairways. It was  _especially_  focused on the blood trail that Iron Will was leaving behind.

Trixie reeled in horror as she caught sight of her colleague. “Holy mother of Mars, man! What did you do, lose a fight with a chimaera?!”

Iron Will let out a heavy snort, wincing slightly as he pressed a hand  to the patched up hole in his shoulder. “Pilum was stronger than Iron Will anticipated, but he still managed to get out of the conflict better than the General. Besides, Iron Will can handle it.” He huffed out a laugh as he looked between Gilda and Trixie. “Still, it looks like the both of you escaped pristine.”

Gilda grumbled under her breath as she rolled her shoulders. “Speak for yourself, bull boy. I definitely pulled a few muscles maneuvering out of those twin bastard’s way.”

Trixie huffed haughtily as she flicked her mane up. “Well, Trixie is hale and hearty! As is only natural of a Fog Weaver, after all.”

Iron Will let out another chuckle before moaning and screwing his eyes shut as another bolt of pain ran through his shoulder.

Scholar narrowed his eyes before raising his right hand towards the minotaur. A flurry of runes danced in his palm...

**THU-THUMP!**

Until he hissed in pain, hastily, stuffing his hand under his armpit. Scholar cursed furiously in his head as he drew his hand out and looked at the affected appendage. Although there appeared to be no visible damage, the lights in his glasses shrunk to pinpricks.

Hastily glancing around to ensure that no one had seen him, he readjusted his sleeves to cover his hand and raised his left hand instead.

Iron Will blinked in surprise as a flurry of runes enveloped him before sighing in relief as the pain from his injuries started to fade away. “Thank you, Scholar.”

“Not a problem, faithful underling!” The Rune Keeper plastered a grin on his face, but glanced despondently down at his right hand the second he was sure he wasn’t being watched.

“Leave my brother alone!” Twilight demanded, flaring her horn furiously as she fought against the cage wall.

“Hmm...” Lacewing hummed as he suddenly flashed into view next to Twilight’s cage. “I dunno... what do you say, brother?”

Rotfang hummed in the exact same tone as he appeared next to his brother. “How about we  _don’t_  and say we did?”

“Let’s not even say it at all!”

“HAHAHA!”

“Talk is cheap,” Chrysalis cut in eagerly. “Now is the time for action. Seath? End this.”

The duke grinned eagerly. “With pleasure.” He waved his hand, letting out a flurry of runes.

Within the image, the Gem Custodian suddenly launched itself into the air...

And the battle began.

**-o-**

Shining Armor controlled his breathing as he watched the Custodian rise up into the air.

Once it reached the apex of its leap, it swept its free foreleg above it. Suddenly, the forearm spiked out with multiple protrusions of crystal. Then, it brought its hoof down, sending a hail of crystalline spikes down at the Captain.

Shining Armor redirected all of his shields above him, spreading them out to cover the rest of the injured soldiers from the barrage.

The crystal projectiles bounced off of the shields relentlessly, dozens at a time.

Finally, the assault ended...

And Shining Armor’s view of the sky was blotted out by a shape above his shields.

Acting on his trained reflexes, he hastily sprang to the side.

Not a moment too soon, because seconds after the Custodian smashed through the shield as though it were a pane of glass, dropping through the space where Shining Armor had occupied moments before and shattering the street.

Faster than anything that heavy should be, the Custodian moved towards Shining Armor, attempting to jab him repeatedly with its lance.

It was a credit to Shining Armor’s skill that he managed to deflect every blow, erecting layer after layer of angled shields in order to direct the lance away from him. Occasionally, the lance would catch the shield at too great an angle and shatter it, nicking and grazing Shining Armor and drawing blood from several gashes.

Suddenly, the flurry of stabs cut off, the Custodian drawing itself upright as it swept its lance above its head and stabbed it straight down.

Shining Armor hastily back-pedaled, barely the weapon as it crashed down into the ground. Gathering his magic, he retaliated by blasting the Custodian in the face with another sphere of shields, launching it off its hooves and sending it tumbling down the street.

The Captain didn’t give the construct time to react as he slammed a shield down on the Custodian, crushing it down into the ground. He then layered shield after shield on the Custodian, crushing it further and further into the ground. But though the road cracked around the Custodian, it itself did not.

The crystal golem struggled futilely against the magic, attempting to squirm its way out from under the press, but to no avail. Suddenly, the Custodian stiffened, its forelimbs lighting up as magic started to course through them and into the ground.

Shining Armor grunted with exertion, forcing more and more magic into the shields as he attempted to flatten the golem.

Suddenly, a circle of light igniting beneath him broke his concentration. He gazed at it for a second before hastily flashing his horn and teleporting away.

A moment later, the circle erupted upwards, piercing the sky with a pillar of crystal.

Shining Armor reappeared further down the street, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath.  _‘That thing... its tougher than it looks...’_ He thought frantically.  _‘I don’t have the firepower to crack it... I... I need something stronger...’_  He looked up at the pillar that was blocking off the street.  _‘Something strong enough to at_ least _shatter_   _that pillar...’_

Abruptly, a light started to accumulate near the middle of the pillar, shining brighter and brighter through the translucent matter.

Shining Armor blinked stupidly for a second before drawing in a hiss of breath and throwing himself forwards.

**BOOM!**

With an ear-shattering crash, a bolt of magic tore straight through the pillar, detonating the area where Shining Armor had been standing moments before and leaving behind a gaping crater in the street.

“Yeah, that’ll do it!” The pony grunted, scrambling to his feet and tearing across the road towards the pillar as fast as his legs could carry him.

**BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!**

Projectile after projectile lanced through the pillar, all of them targeted at Shining Armor. It was only through extensive training, stamina, and a fair amount of luck that the soldier kept in front of the barrage as it rent the street inside out.

Once Shining Armor reached the base of the pillar, he glanced around hastily as he tried to find a way to circumvent the pillar that was blocking the whole of the street. “Alright, so should I take a back alley or...?”

**BOOM! BOOM!**

He was answered by a pair of explosions and the sound of shattering crystal rending the air in front of Shining Armor on the other side of the pillar. The Captain blinked in confusion. “What the...”

More shattering rent through the air, and a shadow started to fall over Shining Armor.

The soldier’s ears flattened against his skull as his pupils slowly started to dilate. He tilted his head up in horror. “Oh you have  _got_  to be kidding me...”

Slowly but most assuredly, the pillar was starting to tilt forwards towards the unicorn, its massive girth blocking out most of the sky.

Acting on impulse, Shining Armor threw up as many shields as he could, as fast and strong as he could manage.

**CRASH!**

The pillar hit the ground like a falling comet, shattering into a million pieces. The street itself was ripped apart, cracked into multiple large pieces. The fragments lay strewn across the street, obscuring most of the surroundings from sight.

At the remains of the pillar’s base, Shining Armor panted tiredly, his horn flickering weakly as his shields faded away. “I... am never... doing that again...” He groaned miserably.

The sound of magic and lightning crackling above him drew his attention upwards. A single look made him swallow heavily in fear.

The Custodian stood on the lip of the pillar’s base, its lance prepared to launch a bolt of destruction at him.

“Then again, never say never!” Shining Armor tried to produce another shield, but it was no use, his horn sparked and flickered uselessly, too worn out from its previous exertion of energy. All he could do was stare in horror as the golem prepared to fire.

**SLAM!**

Suddenly, a bolt of metal flew from out of nowhere, slamming into the Custodian’s head. The construct immediately snapped its head around, staring intently at the unseen source of the projectile.

Standing on the opposite side of the base, shakily reloading a crossbow as he balanced on his rear hooves, was a relatively young colt, an Earth Pony. “Come and get some you overgrown rock!” He shouted, his voice wavering frantically. Even as he shouted, his shaking hoof dropped the bolt he was holding. He stared after the bit of metal in horror as it clattered away “Oh buck me...” He whispered in horror.

The Gem Custodian stared menacingly at the soldier for a moment before slowly turning its whole body around, slowly stomping towards him, a looming construct of physical death bearing down on him.

The soldier tried to back away but tripped over his own two hooves. He scrambled frantically for a second, trying to regain his balance, but was instead pinned to the ground by a crystal hoof slamming down on his barrel.

The Custodian narrowed its blank eyes at the soldier, slowly bringing the dragon-faced tip of its spear up to the soldier’s terrified face, magic and lightning slowly gathering in its maw.

But before it could blast...

“Get the hell off of him!”

The Custodian jerked back in shock when Shining Armor suddenly threw himself on its back, wrapping his hooves around its neck and muzzle, exerting as much force as he could to twist its head away.

The Custodian stumbled in shock, squirming its body back and forth in an effort to fling Shining Armor off of it.

The Captain grit his teeth furiously as he hung on for dear life, only remaining safe by the strength of his limbs.  _‘I promised Faithful Shield that I wouldn’t pick fights that I couldn’t win...’_  He thought fitfully.

One of the Guardian’s hooves came off the spear and reached over its shoulder, swatting fitfully at the interloper on its back.

_‘So I’d better not lose!’_

Shining Armor’s horn lit up furiously, conjuring a barrier in front of the Custodian’s stomach and expanding it violently.

The resulting controlled explosion blew the two of them off their feet, knocking the spear out of the Custodian’s grasp and sending it skittering away.

Shining Armor coughed tiredly as he tried to catch his breath, “Though I suppose that I could bear to aim for opponents a bit closer to my level...” He wheezed painfully. The soldier struggled to regain his standing...

**SLAM!**

“GAH!”

Shining Armor cried out in pain as a weight suddenly landed on his chest, crushing him into the ground. A pair of hooves pressed themselves into his throat, cutting off his air supply. Shining Armor struggled violently, pounding his hooves against the limbs holding him down in futility.

The Custodian loomed over him in silence, watching with a cold, unfeeling mask as it slowly choked the life out of him. There was no anger. No rage, no glee, no sadness. No emotion at all. Just cold, calculated efficiency as it performed its task to the letter.

Slowly... Shining Armor smiled. despite his lack of oxygen, he let a small, weak laugh waft out of his throat and into the air.

The Gem Custodian narrowed its eyes, slowly tilting its head to the side.

“Confused?” Shining Armor rasped weakly. “Allow me to enlighten you...”

Tink!

The Gem Custodian looked down at it’s barrel in shock, staring blankly at the spear tapping against it’s midsection.

The spear’s shaft was enveloped in Shining Armor’s pink aura, and it’s maw was fully charged.

“I... win...”

**BOOM!**

The blast tore straight through the Custodian, ripping it clean in half and sending the lower half flying.

Shining Armor heaved the golem’s upper half off of him, desperately gulping down air as he scrambled to his hooves. “Well, that worked...” He coughed thankfully.

_Scratch... scratch... scratch..._

The Unicorn’s eye twitched violently as he turned to stare at the legless torso dragging its way towards him .  _“Really?!”_  He demanded incredulously, hefting the spear up and pointing it at the Custodian’s head. “Do I  _honestly_  need to go this far to finish you?”

The Custodian stared up blankly at him, its legs shaking violently as they supported its weight. And then... something changed. A light went out behind its eyes, in the depths of its crystalline mass. Suddenly, cracks began to creep up along its body from the point of severance, followed by it simply... falling to pieces.

Shining Armor stared at the pile of remains for a moment before sighing wearily and letting the spear’s tip rest on the ground. “That’s what I thought...” His gaze was slowly drawn to the spear he was holding with his magic, examining it closely and hefting its weight in his grip.

Suddenly...

“Captain!”

Shining Armor turned his head to stare at the soldier that had scrambled to his feet and was trotting towards him.

“C-captain, are you alright?” The soldier panted wearily.

Shining Armor stared at him for a moment before slowly nodding. “Yeah... yeah, I’m fine. Thanks for your help. That was a very brave thing you did...”

The soldier grinned sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head. “I- thank you, sir! I was just doing my duty is-!”

_“Don’t_  do it again,” Shining Armor cut him off firmly, jabbing him in the chest with his hoof. “The next time you see an opponent who you definitely cannot beat, you  _run._  Got it?”

The soldier nodded hesitantly. “I-y-yes sir... it’s just...”

“Just?”

The soldier looked away miserably. “I... with the way things are... I didn’t think that it would really matter. I mean... with the way things are... I... I didn’t...”

Shining Armor’s eyes softened. “You think you’re going to die, don’t you?”

The soldier looked back up at him with tears in his eyes. “I’m sorry, but... with... the way things are... sir, what are the actual chances we get out of here alive?”

Shining Armor looked the soldier over solemnly, before looking towards where the rest of the soldiers had been, slowly walking towards the edge of the crystal plateau. He watched as the ponies picked themselves off the ground, supporting the wounded and treating injuries. “How many are still alive?”

The soldier slowly stepped up alongside, gazing down morosely at the remains of his comrades. “About half of us. The... The Custodian killed the rest of us. And considering how many other enemies are out there...”

**SLAM!**

The soldier jerked in shock as Shining Armor suddenly slammed the spear’s butt into the ground, drawing all attention to him.

“Alright,  _listen up!”_   He bellowed in a commanding tone of voice. “I want to make one thing absolutely and utterly clear, right here, right now! WE! ARE NOT!  _GOING TO DIE!_ Do you understand me!? I don’t care how many enemies are out there, how strong they are, how well-equipped, I just. Don’t.  _Care!_  And do you know why?”

Shining Armor pounded the butt of his lance into the ground again. “Because we are soldiers of Equestria! It is our duty to protect and serve for our nation, to guard it from all danger! As such, we cannot,  _will not_  die until our loved ones, our friends and families no longer have to live in fear of the next day!  _That_  is our duty, and  _that_  is why we will  _not_  die here today! AM! I!  _CLEAR!?”_

The soldiers broke out into cheers, pumping their hooves into the air ecstatically.

_Clap. Clap. Clap. Clap._

Suddenly, as the cheering died down, a slow clapping sound rang out, echoing up and down the street.

_“Well done, Shining Armor, well done...”_

Shining Armor sucked in a hiss of breath in horror. “Oh no...”

Suddenly, all the crystal composing the street, every facet, lit up and displayed Scholar. The human glared down and up at the ponies from every angle possible.

_“I really must congratulate you on your success, not to mention your speech. Top notch, first class, especially considering it was off the top of your head. Buuuut...”_  He shook his head sadly, sighing as he idly shrugged his shoulders.  _“I’m afraid that’s one promise you just_ won’t _be able to deliver.”_

Scholar’s smile shone out of his hood, giving him a sincerely  _deranged_  expression.

_“Time’s up, Shining Armor. Ding dong, time for you to watch as everyone around you_ **_dies.”_ **


	21. Sudden-Death Overtime

“Well, that was overly dramatic of you,” Seath grinned eagerly.

The plaza’s atmosphere was tense, the very  _air_  electrified.

All three of the Oligarchs as well as their subordinates were gathered around a pillar of magic rising out of the ground. Observing the events from around the city displayed across its sides with extreme intent.

“Sue me, I thought it was appropriate,” Scholar chuckled under his breath, his eyes flicking back and forth. “Still though... it’s finally, _finally_  our turn.”

“Then in that case, let us make it count!” Chrysalis grinned, licking her fangs eagerly.

“Scholar, Chrysalis, Seath,  _listen_  to me!” Cadance protested desperately.

“Yeah, how about no?” Scholar drawled. “Now that I think about it, listening to you guys was fun for awhile, but now? Eh, I couldn’t give a damn. Allow me to use one of my favorite features in those cages,” A rune appeared above his hand. “Mute.”

“SCH-!” The Alicorn’s protests were cut off, and any noise from her cage was extinguished.

Lacewing cackled as he buzzed in front of the desperate princesses face. “Awww, is the poor widdle pony sad because her people are getting their asses whipped? Too bad, so sa-!”

Cadance stopped pounding against the runic walls, and instead looked the changeling straight in the eye.

**Spite.**

**Cold.**

**Power.**

**Suffering.**

**Apathy.**

**Freezing.**

**Freezing.**

**Freezing.**

“-waaaagh...” Lacewing gurgled miserably as he leaned backwards and collapsed, foam dripping out of his agape mouth.

Rotfang raised an eye ridge nervously as he poked his brother with the butt of his spear, causing his body to twitch slightly. “Soo... what you were saying earlier about standard protocol with Oligarchs...?”

“It applies to you too,” Scholar deadpanned. “Even  _if_  she’s incapacitated and one of the weakest physically and metaphysically speaking, she is still an  _Oligarch._  Get that through your skulls. Clear?”

“Clear.”

“Eeeeeeegh...”

“Anyways...” He continued in exasperation. “Let’s see... Priscilla went back out to pick up some specific individuals, no enemies or supplies have left the city, all our top officers are returning here... Alright, I think that’s everything! Let’s get this over with fast, I want to count out my winnings as soon as possible!”

Chrysalis shot him a dirty scowl. “Oh shove off you overly pompous... ergh,” She ground her fangs together furiously. “If  _Seath’s_  puppet hadn’t flubbed things up...”

The crystal dragon snorted in contempt. “As if  _I_  could have predicted the Captain’s skill. Besides, it would have worked if not for the terrible twosome...”

“Awwww, how sweet!”

“Yes, we feel so  _loved!_  Thank you  _so_  much for your compliments!”

Seath twitched as a horrifyingly familiar set of voices piped up.

All attention was shifted over to the pair of artificial beings that swooped into the plaza.

Chrysalis snorted irritably as she turned to face the Twins. “Ah, and so the prodigal heirs return! What a  _joy_  it is to oh what the hell...” She trailed off as she caught sight of their... condition.

Nix sighed in exasperation as she reinforced the seal she was maintaining. “Yeah, things... got a bit out of hand...”

“Honestly though, I don’t see  _what_  all the fuss is about!” Null chirped pleasantly, barely phased by the fact that he was being held upside down by his sister with both his hands bound by Nix’s green magic.

“For the record, Gavrill is right behind us, so she should be here sooner rather than later...” The emerald golem muttered in a tone that brooked a lack of any and all patience.

Scholar groaned in frustration as he slipped his fingers beneath his glasses and massaged the bridge of his nose irritably. “Dare I even _ask_  what’s wrong with him?”

“Precisely nothing, good sir!” Null huffed indignantly.

“He’s gone mad.” Nix stated flatly.

“Pish posh!” The crimson golem sniffed in an insulted manner. “I merely communicated the urge to rend flesh from bone! It is a perfectly natural sentiment that I express on a daily basis!”

“You tried to skin  _allies,_  dumbass!”

“So I believe in equal opportunity homicide! Is that such a crime?”

_“YES!”_

“...bigot.”

_**“YOU SON OF A-!”**_  Nix’s free hand flashed with feral magic.

“Nix...” Scholar interrupted her tiredly. “Could you just... bring him over here?”

The female golem grumbled darkly as she floated over to her creator and proffered her crazed brother.

Null blinked as he stared at Scholar before shutting his eyes in a mouthless smile. “Good day, my lord! I must say, your visage is quite stunning today! Might I remove it and wear it as a disguise to the masquerade?”

Scholar was nonplussed as he examined his construct. “No overt damage to the runes...  no structural damage either...”

“So, what, the malfunction is mental?” Gilda asked in confusion. “Because I’m telling you now, I know that these loonies are nuts, but usually they can direct their crazy towards acceptable targets.”

“Usually, yes...” He muttered before focusing on Null’s tightly clenched hands.”Unless they’re acted on by outside forces. What are you holding, Null?”

The golem’s eyes widened in shock before darting around nervously. “Er, I... that is to say...”

“Never mind, I’ll find out for myself.” Scholar snapped his fingers, sending up a flurry of magical runes that centered around Null’s fingers. Against the golem’s wishes, his hand jerked open, sending a small piece of metal flying into the air which was swiftly captured by multiple rings of runes.

Null blinked quickly as though getting water out of his eyes before focusing on his bound hands. He was silent for a second before groaning in embarrassment. “What did I do this time?”

Scholar frowned darkly as he held up the bundle of runes he was projecting, displaying the pocket watch held within. “You were an idiot and got possessed.  _Again.”_

Null focused on the pocket watch and chuckled nervously. “Ah heh heh... Sorry?”

“The Bemused and Confounded Trixie would like to know just what the  _heck_  that thing is!” The illusionist piped up warily.

Scholar grunted darkly as he stared at the contained object. “ _This_  is a pocket watch that belonged to a particularly malevolent and homicidal butler by the name of Archibald Hall. Over the course of my many years exploring different words, I’ve procured a vast array of artifacts and memorabilia that belonged to notable figures, individuals... so on and so forth. Many of these items bear unique and supernatural properties. This watch alone is capable of possessing whoever holds it and imprinting upon them Hall’s sick, twisted, surprisingly well-versed in tea-making psyche. I use Null to contain them most of the time, though occasionally there are... mishaps.”

“And you kept that thing  _why_  exactly!?” Iron Will sputtered.

Scholar shrugged indifferently. “Sentimental value, I suppose. Same reason I keep most of them.”

Suddenly, the orb of runes erupted into a small inferno of multihued flames that lasted for a minute before dissipating and allowing a scant few ashes and dust to blow away.

“Clearly that was a mistake on my part.”

Null chuckled nervously, rubbing his wrists as his sister begrudgingly released him. “Eheheh... sorry about that... stupid thing slipped into my hand instead of the arcane ring-blade core I was grabbing for.”

“So... wait!” Gilda protested. “That... that’s it!? Over and done with?”

Seath snorted in grim amusement. “Please. This kind of thing happened on a nigh weekly basis. We’re used to it by now.”

“This doofus was particularly prone to hypnosis...” Nix jabbed her thumb at her indignant brother.

“Bite me, you arrogant-!”

“Moving on!” Scholar interrupted hastily. “Anyways... nice going with dealing with that Custodian, I have to seriously commend the both of you!”

“What, no respect for  _me,_  fuckface? Talk about appreciation!”

The tension returned in an instant as a highly recognizable individual strode into the plaza.

Gavrill grinned furiously as she bloodily tore an unrecognizable leg of meat to pieces. “Soooo much fucking respect, you got to fucking love it!” She cast a critical gaze over the ponies, griffon, minotaur, dragon, changeling and human that were assembled. “This is everyone who isn’t fucked up? Eh, screw it. I’ve seen worse. Oh yeah, almost forgot...” She cracked off a chunk of bone as she munched down on her meal. “The midget and the freak are wrapping up a few things and then they’ll get their asses here too. Just an FYI for you fuckasses.”

Chrysalis snorted as she cast a baleful gaze at the bloody woman. “Gavrill.  _So_  glad to see that you managed to survive. I thought that you might have gone and died from an infection due to all the shit that comes out of your mouth.”

Gavrill’s grin flipped into a furious scowl as she glared at the bug-horse. “You know  _what-!”_  She started to protest...

“Hello, Gavrill.”

And trailed off when Scholar marched in front of her.

The tension in the plaza mounted radically as the two stared coldly at each other.

“Er...” Gilda scratched the back of her head nervously. “What’s  _their_  problem?”

“The last words that they exchanged before everything went south were a  _little_  harsh.” Nix informed them quietly.

Iron Will raised an eyebrow in confusion. “How bad could it have been?”

Null cleared his non-existent throat before growling in Gavrill’s throaty voice. “‘Don’t attack?! Fuck you, old man! I’ve put up with your ‘restraint’ shit for too long! I don’t need you, never have and never will! Fuck off!’” He shrugged helplessly. “After that, she ran off to fight the Equestrians and we never saw her again. Heck, her rampage just helped to fuel Discord’s chaos.”

“So essentially, not that happy of a relationship.” Trixie deadpanned. “Joy. Pray tell, which way is it to the nearest bomb shelter? Trixie does not wish to perish in the crossfire.”

However, in contrast to the master illusionist’s expectations, neither the berserker nor the magus made a move. They just... stared at each other.

Finally, it was Scholar who spoke. “So... Celestia didn’t kill you?”

Gavrill scowled and looked away, refusing to meet his gaze. “... Nah. Didn’t reach her. Luna kicked my ass. Veronica dragged my body to Fran’s manor. She patched me up and put us all under.” She narrowed her eyes at him in an accusatory manner. “You disappointed?”

Scholar shrugged indifferently. “Eh, not really. At least now I have a good fire-and-forget weapon on standby, even if it  _is_  a little faulty and tends to go rogue.”

Gavrill’s snapped her jaws at him, snarling furiously. “Yeah, well you’re nothing but a crusty old has-been who  _wasn’t fucking strong enough!”_

The two’s faces were inches from one another, both attempting to kill the other with sheer furiosity. Finally...

The two simultaneously smirked and clasped one anothers forearm’s.

“Glad to see you didn’t bite the big one yet, wild child. We could use the brute force.” Scholar chuckled.

“Yeah, well, at least you have some decent firepower, fuckface.” Gavrill responded, her savage grin back in full force.

Queen Chrysalis threw her head back and let out a harsh bark of laughter. “For all an absence of your vulgarity would be a relief on my ears, the loss of your ever-present profanity would be a crying shame. After all, how  _else_  would I be able to go to sleep at night?”

“Indeed...” Seath chuckled. “Not to mention that your stomach is a central portion of Vitrum’s waste disposal system!”

“Ah, fuck you guys!” Gavrill cackled without so much as a hint of being offended.

Meanwhile, the trio were staring at the assembly of ancient individuals in numbed shock.

“So... that’s it!?” Gilda asked. “I mean... after all she did... just like that!?”

Nix and Null shrugged indifferently.

“Eh, what can we say?”

“People screw up all the time, and way worse too!”

“In our line of work, grudges are something we can’t really afford to keep!”

“And besides... for all they’re prissy...”

“Credit where it’s due to the ponies: nothing beats the magic of friendship and family!”

“And on that note!  _Hey Gavrill! You look like the ugly end of a blood ogre!”_

_“And you smell like one too!”_

“GET FUCKED, DICKLESS AND DUMB-BITCH!”

“Yes, Trixie can simply  _feel_  the love emanating off of you all...” The unicorn illusionist rolled her eyes.

“Alright, alright, enough!” Scholar guffawed, openly laughing at their antics. “Hehe, anyways, moving right along... I’d say we’re almost ready to go. We just need to wait for-!”

“SCHOLAR!”

“Never mi-OOF!” The mage was cut off by a ballistic individual in black flying through the air and colliding with his torso, nearly knocking him off his feet. However, he hastily reasserted his balance and grinned down at the toddler-sized person clutching at his robes. “Hey there, Veronica! Long time no see, h- _HURK!”_  He was cut off again by a small fist ramming into his stomach, sending the air whuffing out of his lungs. But instead of getting angry, he merely grimaced and slowly patted her head, leaving his grimoire suspended in the air. “I... deserved that...”

“Damn right you did...” Veronica grumbled as she buried her face in his clothes. “You left us...”

“But Veronica... you’re forgetting the facts...”

The artificial human whipped her head around and grinned at the familiar voice. “Fran!”

Walking into the plaza were a quartet of individuals: Priscilla, with her massive scythe hanging upon her back, Fran Madaraki, with two hands in her lab coat's pockets, one folded behind her head while the other turned her right bolt, and one holding a clipboard while the last tapped a pencil on it rhythmically.

The patchwork scientist was flanked by a pair of...  _unique_  individuals. One was a tall woman, about half a head taller than Fran with long black hair hanging down her back. Almost her entire body was covered in bandages, and the parts of her skin that showed displayed zippers that appeared to be seamlessly integrated with her flesh. The other was a short yet stocky individual, who was three to four feet tall at most. His entire body was hidden by a pitch-black cloak, and he was wearing a patchwork newsboy cap on his head. The only visible flesh was a snuffling pig’s snout that poked out from under the cap.

Scholar grinned exuberantly as he waved at the newcomers. “Fran, Adorea, Frogan! I’m so glad to see you again! Also, the fact that you’re all in one piece is extremely encouraging!” He cast a thankful nod at the humanoid-dragon hybrid. “My thanks for escorting them, Priscilla.”

The tall woman nodded in return. “It was my pleasure, Scholar. Now, if you’ll excuse me...” She cast a frigid glare at the suddenly skittish Seath. “I must chastise my Father for partaking in gambling.  _Again.”_

The dragon coughed uncomfortably as he rubbed the back of his head.

“As I was saying...” Fran breathed airily as she walked up to her creator and sister. “You’re forgetting the facts, Veronica... Facts that cannot be ignored...” She shrugged idly. “Three in particular... The fact that the circumstances surrounding Scholar’s disappearance were out of his control... The fact that Scholar actually came back... And finally... The fact that he truly regrets his actions.”

She smiled serenely at Scholar. “You taught us that remorse is a major necessity in forgiveness... But even without that...” She stepped up, removing her top two hands from her head and wrapping them around his shoulders in a light hug, her bottom hands coming out of her pockets to squeeze Veronica’s shoulders. “I’m still glad you’re back... all of you...”

Scholar smiled lightly as he gave his middle child a one-armed hug, the other arm remaining on his youngest’s head. “You too, Fran, you too.” He cast a sardonic look over his shoulder at the three eldest. “What about you, Gavrill, Nix, Null? You want in on the family reunion?”

“Heck no!”

“No way!”

“Fuck you! With  _barbed wire!”_

Iron Will discretely leaned down towards one of the changelings he’d sidled up to. “So... Iron Will is confused. Why  _haven’t_  they killed one another yet?”

“You’re lookin’ at one of the greatest mysteries in all of Concordia, pal...” Rotfang whispered.

“Awwww!” Pinkie... awwed as she watched the makeshift family hug. “That’s so sweet! Hey, maybe later I should throw them a ‘Hooray, we’re all back together again!’ party!”

“Er, Pinkie?” Applejack responded as she eyed Gavrill nervously. “No offense to ya, but Ah  _don’t_  quite think that they’ll appreciate it that much, given the circumstances an’ all.”

“Er.. excuse me, Rarity?” The shy pony squeaked as she noticed her alabaster friend’s thousand-yard stare. “A-are you alright?”

“I  _think_  that she’s catatonic from the amount of stitches in these guys’ clothing.” Spike explained before casting a surreptitious glance at the tall bandaged woman. “Or their lack thereof, as the case may be.”

“AHEM!”

The peaceful mood was swiftly shattered by Chrysalis indiscreetly coughing into her hoof. “I realize that this is all  _very_  heartwarming,” She drawled, “But I believe we had some mass-homicide to orchestrate, no?”

Scholar coughed in embarrassment as he squeezed Fran and Veronica a final time before letting them go and grinning sheepishly, snatching the Lexicon back from where it had been floating. “Quite right, quite right... Well then!” He clapped his hands eagerly. “Let’s get to it! Seath, you’re first. The Subarchives are yours to purge.”

The crystalline dragon grinned a savage, lipless grin as he shuffled forwards on his tentacles, dragging his girth towards the edge of the plaza and looking out over the vast chasms below. “It will be my  _pleasure.”_

Forgoing further ceremony, Seath began to suck in a massive lungful of breath, leaning his head, neck and torso as far back as he could manage. Once he’d inhaled as much as he could, he held his position for a single instant. The next, he snapped his entire body forwards, hanging it out over the void as he loosed the oxygen from his body in a  _massive_  roar that literally shook the ground, enormous runic rings conjuring in the space before him.

_**“ROOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAARRRR!!!!”** _

Once he was done, the rings dissipated and Seath was left panting heavily as he rested his hands on what approximated as his knees.

Silence filled the air for a moment. Then...

_CRACK!_

Seath grinned tiredly as the sound reached what would be his ears.

_CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRA-CRA-CRACK!_

Twilight’s ear flicked slightly as she strained to understand the sound that was on the very edge of her hearing. “What...  _is_  that?”

_**CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!** _

Scholar chuckled darkly as he recognized the noise as it grew ever louder. “ _That_  would be one of the more proactive defense systems in Vitrum!”

_**CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRA-CRA-CRACK! CRAAAACK!** _

“You have to admit...” The human gloated as the sound became loud enough to ring out throughout the entire city. “The sound of swiftly growing crystal is  _very_  similar to shattering glass, isn’t it?”

“Crystal?” Rainbow Dash blinked in confusion.

It was Seath’s grim chuckling that answered her. “Indeed...” He turned and offered her a feral grin. “Crystal. Imagine it: thousands upon thousands of crystal spires, all growing from every available crystalline surface I deem fit at extremely high speeds. Unstoppable. Omnipresent. As of this moment, every  _inch_  of those tunnels is a blade, seeking to bathe itself in Equestrian blood.” His grin grew ever more bloodthirsty. “The only fate that awaits the enemies of Vitrum down below is one that is swift and painless. The sole issue will be getting those  _pesky_  blood stains out.”

Twilight’s eyes widened in horror as she processed the implications of the ominous statement. “Th-that’s-!”

She was interrupted by the hitherto ever-present shattering sound suddenly stopping without warning.

Seath’s grin extended to its fullest. “The Subarchives have been purged. Chrysalis? I leave the Overloft to you. And please,  _do_  try and avoid damaging what flora and fauna you can. We have so little to spare...”

“Anything for my  _dearest_  of friends, Seath!” The changeling matriarch grinned as she strutted forwards, green light coalescing around her form as she went. “Now, if you please, sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.”

Chrysalis closed her eyes and stood  _very_  still as the emerald energy began to flow around her, radiating from almost every inch of her carapace. Simultaneously, the other changelings in the plaza began to glow, including those previously invisible which suddenly phased into sight, the light shining out of their eyes and mouths. Lacewing was snapped out of his stupor and leapt to the air, Rotfang joining him as he buzzed in the air eagerly. Chitter cackled as he leapt into the air, zipping around like a deranged verdant fly.

**“I** _ **love**_ **Swarming...”** Lacewing chuckled, his voice thick and heavy with magic.

**“Indeed...”**  Rotfang concurred, sparks of energy crackling around him.  **“Nothing quite beats the feeling of imminent, unabated slaughter.”**

**“HAHAahaHahaHAAA!”**  Chitter’s garbled laughter rang throughout the plaza as he swirled about in incoherent patterns.  **“ENouGH waitING! LEt’S GEt tO IT!”**

The sound of buzzing, insectoid rings was not just within the plaza. The noise was repeated and echoed all throughout the entirety of Vitrum. The sound heralded one thing, and one thing only: a swarm. A massive army of insects taking to the air simultaneously.

**“Now then, my** _ **dearest**_ **children...”**  Chrysalis intoned from her stable position, ablaze with a fathomless amount of energy.  **“I trust you know what I am about to ask of you?”**

**“Yes, my Queen...”**  What seemed like thousands of voices droned simultaneously, the collective sound of their dialogue nigh divine in stature.

**“Then...”**  Chrysalis’ eyes snapped open, twin suns of emerald magic.  _ **“Kill!”**_

_**“YES, MY QUEEN!”** _

What seemed like thousands blurs of black and green shot off into the air, speeding towards the sky. Slowly but surely, from all over the metropolis, countless Changelings coalesced in the spaces below, around and above the aerial islands that composed the overloft. To call it a cloud would be an insult, and yet there was no better word to describe the amalgamation of chitin and fury that was sweeping its way across the sky.

“Holy mother of Aeolus...” Gilda breathed in disbelief.

“Yes...” Fran chuckled as she turned her bolt, absentmindedly scribbling away on her clipboard. “That is often the reaction to watching a small army of changelings getting amped on magic and Swarming... It’s very unique...”

“Credit where it’s due to the fuckers!” Gavrill concurred as she finished off the leg she had been eating, licking the last of the viscera off her fingers. “When they want to be badass, they can sure as hell be badass.”

“W-what are they doing up there?” Twilight asked nervously.

“Ever leave a picnic basket unattended?” Scholar asked without taking his eyes off the spectacle. “Well, changelings are primarily carnivorous, so right now, they’re essentially ants on steroids.”

“What the heck are steroids!?” Rainbow Dash asked in confusion.

Scholar shot the ponies a disbelieving look before shrugging. “Huh... credit where it’s due, Celestia and Luna actually got  _something_  right... Anyways, to put it simply, they’ll be lucky if their  _bones_  are left.”

“T-that’s barbaric!” Rarity shrieked in disgust.

“We prefer to call it the circle of life.” Priscilla rebuked primly.

“S-she’s not wrong, you know...” Fluttershy added, blushing at the disbelieving looks her friends gave her.

Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, Chrysalis let out a sigh of relief as she allowed herself to relax, the magic fading around from her, followed by the swarm moments later. “Thank Nyx... as enjoyable as Swarming can be, it is equally exhausting.”

“Doesn’t stop it from being a good show though!” Scholar commented.

Chrysalis raised an eye ridge at him flatly. “I wasn’t doing it for your amusement you know.”

_“This_  time!” Lacewing cackled as he swooped back down to the plaza, his armor streaked with crimson.

“Heh, yeah!” Rotfang concurred as he joined his brother. “Remember that night on Scarsky Plateau, when-ERK!”

He and Lacewing were cut off when their mouths were enveloped in emerald light and clamped shut.

“We. Do not.  _Talk about Scarsky.”_  Chrysalis hissed furiously. She then blinked as she realized something. “Wait, where’s-?”

SLAM!

Chitter slammed headfirst into one of the plazas supporting the palace above the plaza, sank to the ground... and began to giggle incoherently. “Sooo... full...”

“Question retracted. Anyhow!” Chrysalis cast a smirk at Scholar. “Do tell us. What method do you intend to use to dispatch the last of the enemy?”

Scholar made a show of stroking his chin thoughtfully as he flicked his book open and thumbed through it. “Oh, it’s  _so_  hard to say... after all, there are just  _sooo_  many choices... elemental... arcane...” Finally, he settled on a specific page, slapped a finger down and grinned eagerly. “Oh. Oh yes... this will do  _perfectly...”_  He cast a cocky grin at his allies. “Hang on to your armor. This is about to get  _paranatural!”_

Without further ado, he slammed his palm on the page, prompting several arrays of frigid blue runes to coalesce in the air around him, rotating and orbiting around him in sharp, calculated trajectories. A cold, arctic mist seemed to seep off of the human, pooling around his feet.

**“Sixth Ode of the Nordic Pantheon,”**  Scholar breathed, his voice heavy with arcane energies.  **“Convocation of Hel.”**

The runes and arrays coalesced into a singular point above Scholar before exploding outwards, sending out a wave of blue energy that left all it passed through with chills.

Once anew, silence reigned over the plaza as all the occupants awaited a response with baited breath.

At long last, one came.

A howl. A distant, distant howl, far off from beyond the city.

That howl was joined by another. And then another and another... a deep, roaring array of howls ringing out from the edge of the tundra.

And they were getting closer.

Gilda’s eyes widened as she took a wary step back. “Screw his mother, holy Aeolus himself... a-are those-?”

“Hooboy...” Iron Will swallowed nervously, gripping his club uncertainly. “This... is something...”

“This is... this is unbelievable...” Trixie swallowed, her breathing accelerating.

“W-what are those things?” Fluttershy whimpered, trying in vain to cover her ears and block out the howling.

“The Boreads,” Scholar smirked, an array of blue runes flickering in front of him. “Northern spirits of ice, wind, magic and emotion. But they’re just a subset of an even greater species. A species that your people are  _intimately_  familiar with.”

“Windigoes...” Seath rumbled.

The reaction from the Equestrians was to simultaneously shiver in wordless terror.

Windigoes. The primordial demons that had plagued ponykind for as long as they could remember, and that had only been banished by the foundation of Equestria.

Some had dared to hope that they were myths.

And now they were about to meet them face to face.

“Heh...” Gavrill’s grin widened malevolently as the howling came closer and closer. “It’s been awhile since I’ve seen the old pack. This oughta be fun.”

Twilight’s panicked mind latched onto the incongruent factoid like a lifeline. “P-pack?!” She sputtered. “B-but I thought that Windigoes were horse-shaped?”

Gilda grunted and shook her head negatively, shivering uncomfortably. By this point, the howling was immense, easily matching gale force winds. The temperature had noticeably dropped by several degrees, and a plume of snow grew over the top of Vitrum’s skyline. “Wrong subspecies!” The griffon shouted to make herself heard. “The ones that antagonized you dweebs were Eurusi, eastern spirits. Them and Zephyrs are equine. Boreads and Noti are predominantly canine!”

“Fascinating! Any other pointless factoids?” Trixie asked.

“Forgive me for spouting trivia when I’m suffering from mortal terror!”

Before Trixie could respond, their argument was cut off by a frigid gale of wind tearing through the plaza, raising the hair of all those who had any.

Nix and Null glanced at one another before chuckling morbidly.

_“They’re he~re!”_  They chorused.

“Right, no more horror movies...” Scholar grumbled.

Nevertheless, the Twins were right. Without so much as an instant of fanfare, what could only be described as a sentient  _blizzard_  blew into the space surrounding the plaza. A living mass of roiling, tumbling snow that blew around the plaza, forming a frigid cyclone.

As the blizzard roared and howled, shapes...  _formed,_  for lack of a better word, within the storm. Wolves, massive and savage, yet elegant in a feral manner, there one instant and dispersed the next as they looped about, their pale blue eyes glinting menacingly as they hungrily eyed the occupants of the plaza.

Scholar chuckled as most others were rendered silent by the menacing spectacle. “Ladies and gentlemen!” He proclaimed proudly. “I present to you Vitrum’s first line of defense! Allow me to demonstrate just how effective they are...”

Scholar began to channel magic into his right arm...

**BA-BUMP!**

And promptly hid a flinch when a bolt of pain ran the length of said limb. He then nonchalantly raised his hand to his mouth, pursed his lips and blew out an  _extremely_  shrill whistle, causing the Boreads to accelerate and howl even louder.

The majority of the onlookers were ignorant of Scholar’s discomfort, but not all of them.

The magus had to fight to keep from flinching when Fran discretely jabbed a scalpel into the small of his back. “Scholar!” The patchwork surgeon hissed, her voice a combination of concern and indignant anger.

“Later...” He muttered out of the corner of his mouth before channeling magic into his throat and addressing the Windigoes.  **“BOREADS OF THE NORTH! FOR TOO LONG HAVE YOU BEEN DERELICT IN YOUR DUTY! YOU HAVE FAILED TO UPHOLD THE PROPRIETY AND SANCTITY OF VITRUM IN ITS TIME OF NEED!”**

The pitch of the howls rose an octave as they took on a hint of unmistakable fury.

**“BUT!”** Scholar forged on.  **“AS OF THIS MOMENT, THAT IS IRRELEVANT! AS OF THIS MOMENT, YOUR SOLE PURPOSE IS THE SAME AS IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN!** _ **PROTECT! VITRUM!**_ **GO! PURGE THIS CITY,** _ **OUR**_ **CITY OF THOSE WHO INVADE IT!** _ **KILL THEM ALL!”**_

The howls crescendoed to a roar of pure unholy rage. As one, the blizzard- no, the  _pack_  darted out amongst the buildings of Vitrum, the fury of nature distilled into a singular, mobile cloud of apoplectic ice and fury. Every surface they touched was almost instantaneously covered in an inches-thick layer of ice, and their howls were ever-present.

“They’re going to hunt them down...” Gavrill breathed reverently. “Every earth pony, unicorn and pegasus who isn’t recognized as friendly. They’ll all be completely drained of magic, and every inch of them, every cell will become  _ice._  Hohohooooo  _man,_ ” She chuckled malevolently. “It’s gonna suck to be an Equestrian out there, because there is  _no_ escaping them. They’re hate and cold incarnate. The world itself is their enemy. And it. Is. Pissed.”

“But don’t worry!” Scholar chuckled, leering at Twilight in her cage. “I’m a man of my word. They’ll avoid Shining Armor, he’ll live. Barely.  _Liiitle_  bit of frost bite, plus maybe some PTSD from all the soldiers he saved dying around him, but hey, as Fran has taught me, quality of life is a debatable factor.”

“Make a few mistakes and no one will ever let you hear the end of it...” The surgeon moaned in embarrasment.

Twilight was silent as she stared morosely at the assembled Concordians before bowing her head somberly. “You’re a monster, Scholar _._ ” She breathed.

Scholar raised an eyebrow at her before shrugging indifferently. “No more than your Princesses, Sparkle.”

Cadance cast a remorseful look at her old friend before looking away, in no way attempting to deny his words.

Ultimately, the howling came to an end as the wind died down, from a tempest to a gale, and finally to a low whistle. The ice began to melt, and the snow began to move away.

“The Windigoes are leaving.” Veronica noted definitively.

“Don’t worry, they’ll still be around,” Scholar reassured. “They’re going to be patrolling the tundra, preventing any... unwanted visitors from approaching Vitrum. Empathic entities are useful like that.”

“Meanwhile, the task is done.” Seath smiled ferally. “Vitrum has been purged. None of our enemies have survived the ordeal. Finally, for the first time in over a thousand years, Vitrum is  _free!”_

“We’re going to need to perform a  _lot_  of cleanup. And I don’t just mean the bloodstains. More than a fair amount of property damage to repair.” Chrysalis noted idly.

“There’ll be time for that later,” Scholar waved them off as he turned and started to walk towards the cube of crystal that was spinning in the center of the plaza. “For now... we have more important matters to address.” He flipped his grimoire open and prompted the pages to start flipping endlessly, runes streaming from the paper and into the cube, prompting it to glow even brighter.

“The heck are ya’ll doin’?” Applejack questioned nervously.

“Oh, nothing  _too_  complex...” Scholar grinned madly as he stared into the magic roiling before him. “I’m just going to...  _talk_  with a few people is all.” He raised a hand and snapped his fingers. “Hit it.”

Seath waved his hand, conjuring up an array. In response, a beam of light shot up from the cube, into the castle above. The spire’s entire body began to glow, magic charging its every fractal. All around its body, massive,  _massive_  arrays of runes and symbols began to materialize. Once the luminescence was at a maximum, the tower shining like a small sun, the energy left it all at once, a bolt of power shooting up into the sky, spearing through any and all clouds and shooting higher than anything had ever flown in recent years.

Scholar shot Seath an expectant look from over his shoulder. “Well?”

The dragon muttered to himself as he fiddled with his array, analyzing the shapes and symbols composing it. “A large amount of the relays have been permanently disabled. Only about a dozen or so of the orbital ones remain active and they aren’t even equidistantly dispersed, but there  _are_  several terrestrial relays still in position. It will be tight... but the system will function.”

The human nodded in acceptance as he turned back to the cube. “Very well then. Activate the communications array. Let’s do this.”

**-o-**

Celestia breathed heavily as she galloped out onto her chamber’s balcony, staring up at the sky in ill-repressed horror. She snapped her head around and caught sight of Luna as her sister flapped down from her tower to join her. “Did you feel-?”

“I would have to be blind, deaf and dumb to have not felt such force!” Luna stated darkly. “And even then...”

Celestia whinnied nervously as she searched the sky. “But how? How could he  _possibly_  manage to-?”

**KRACKATHOOM!**

The sisters snapped their heads up in shock as an enormous explosion rang out above them, and the sound of stone splitting and cracking reached their ears.

High above Canterlot, a beam of pure energy had impacted the very peak of the mountain upon which Canterlot rested, and was ceaselessly drilling into the rock that composed its face.

Celestia’s ears flattened in numb realization. “The communications array. He’s managed to retake Vitrum.”

“I don’t suppose that there’s any way we can disrupt the signal, is there?” Luna asked idly.

Celestia shrugged slightly. “That depends. How do you feel about instant and painful disintegration from magic surcharge?”

“Ah. Well... I suppose we have no choice but to listen to what he has to say. Perhaps there is a chance that it will not be as bad as we expect.”

With a final, resounding CRACK!, the mountain peak split open, a large cubic construct of rune-engraved stone and metal rose into the air, glowing brightly with the energy flowing into it as sigils and symbols flowed off of it and orbited around it freely. After a moment, three more beams of energy shot out of the device and off into the distance towards unknown destinations.

Meanwhile, the device above Canterlot began to glow brighter and brighter, rotating faster and faster as energy and runes flowed off it into a cloud high above the city.

After about a minute, the magic condensed into a singular, recognizable form: Scholar, standing imperiously above the world with his Lexicon held open before him.

**“PEOPLE OF MUNDUS!”**  The magus boomed, his sonorous voice echoing far and wide to such an extent that  _not_  hearing him would be an impossibility.  **“MY NAME IS SCHOLAR, PROFESSOR MAGNUS OF THE ACADEMIA ARCANA AND OLIGARCH OF CONCORDIA! MY PURPOSE SPEAKING TO YOU TODAY IS TWOFOLD! FOR MY ALLIES, I PROMISE HOPE, SUPPORT, AND A PROMISE OF LIBERTY IN THE FUTURE!”**  His demeanor shifted drastically, going taking a stance of inevitable menace. **“FOR MY ENEMIES... PRINCESS CELESTIA, PRINCESS LUNA, I PROMISE YOU NOTHING SHORT OF THE WORST HELL YOU CAN** _ **POSSIBLY**_ **IMAGINE.”**

“Well, we’re thoroughly fucked.”

“Luna!”

“Oh bite me, sister. I must agree with Scholar, the shift in vocabulary is a step too far.” Luna sighed wearily as she massaged the bridge of her nose, feeling a headache beginning to develop. “Either way, please do be quiet. I would like to hear what our adversary has to say.”

**-o-**

**“FOR THE PAST TWO THOUSAND YEARS, COUNTLESS SPECIES ACROSS MUNDUS HAVE SUFFERED, SUBJUGATED IN A CHAINLESS CAPTIVITY SINCE THE FALL OF MY NATION AT THE HANDS OF THOSE WHO BETRAYED US! TO THOSE WHO WENT FREE WERE NONETHELESS SHACKLED, BROUGHT LOW AND MADE TO SUFFER! TODAY, I STRIKE THE FIRST BLOW, AND TAKE THE FIRST STEP IN LIBERATING YOU!”**

Rover blinked in a dull manner as he listened to the words the glowing person that had just appeared before the pack from the Old Shrine had been saying.

The Shrine was an ancient thing, one of many similar artifact that all Diamond Dog packs carried with them from den to den, no matter the cost. None of them knew  _why_  they did such a thing, just that they did. It was how things had always been, and how they would always be.

The gray Diamond Dog grumbled as he wiped his forearm over his nose, only half-listening to the words being said. They were big and complicated and had absolutely nothing to do with diamonds, so he couldn’t really give a damn about what was being said. He turned towards the rest of his onlooking pack, prepared to bark at them to get back to work.

Suddenly, Rover felt something. Heat, a glow, centered around his neck. The mutt raised his paw in confusion and gripped the collar he wore that denoted him as the pack’s Alpha. The heat... it was growing... hotter and hotter... brighter and brighter... he could feel the light shining off of it. It seeped through his fingers,  _into_  his fingers, into his very  _body._  The light... the energy... it felt...

**It felt...**

Rover gasped, sucking in a deep breath of oxygen as he took what felt like his first,  _true_  breath.  _‘I... my mind...’_  He thought in shock,  _‘I-it’s..._!’ The Alpha snapped his head around to stare at his Beta and Gamma. “F-fido... Spot... do you-?”

The short brown mutt nodded slowly as he fingered his collar. “I... Boss, this feeling, I’ve... I’ve never...”

The larger, darker hound stared at his leader in shock. “B-boss... I... do you...? Do you remember...?”

Rover blinked as he tried to work out what Fido was saying... and choked as it all came rushing back to him. He  _remembered._  Every lesson his mother had taught him when he was a pup, the legends he was told. The protocols and instructions that had been forgotten in the haze of time. Their purpose. Their promise. Their  _duty._

He remembered it all.

Acting on what he remembered, Rover darted over to the altar that the shrine had been resting on, ripping the amber medallion off of his collar and sliding it into a hidden slot in the stone. Moments later, the stone surface lit up with runes before splitting apart and sliding away to allow access to the space within.

Reaching in, the Alpha dug out a collar, similar to the one that he and his direct subordinates wore, if slightly rougher. He looked at it curiously for a moment before acting on a hunch, wheeling around and flinging the neckwear at one of the other lower-ranked hounds in the cavern.

The Dog gasped and jerked in shock when the collar latched around his throat, flashing once and sending out a flurry of runes. Then... he looked up, and Rover could  _see_  the new- or was it old?- intelligence that shone in his eyes.

Rover looked into the box, ran a quick calculation- an honest to Gaea  _calculation-_  in his head before snapping his head back towards his comrades. “Pull  _every_  Dog you can out of the mines and bring them here  _now!_ Mandatory attendance!  _Everyone_  gets a collar! And once they’re protected...”

He reached into the box and withdrew a large bronze, runic pickaxe, which he stared at contemplatively before growling and gripping it tightly.

“I want every last Dog on deck! Shafts expanded in all directions! I want a two-hundred percent spike in efficiency  _before the sun sets!_ No rest! No breaks! We are going to do our duty, and we are going to do it  _right!”_  Rover shoved his pick into the air. “FOR THE OLD EMPIRE!”

The mutts who had regained their intelligence grinned in unison and pumped their fists. “FOR CONCORDIA!”

**-o-**

**“TO MY MOST ANCIENT AND STAUNCHEST OF ALLIES, WHO HAVE SURVIVED THROUGHOUT THE YEARS AGAINST ALL ODDS, FAITHFULLY AWAITING MY RETURN! I IMPLORE YOU TO END YOUR EXILE AND REJOIN MY SIDE, SO THAT WE MIGHT STRIKE BACK AT THOSE WHO HAVE USURPED US! THE TIME FOR PATIENCE HAS COME TO AN END! NOW, AT THIS MOMENT, BEGINS THE TIME FOR** _**ACTION!”** _

High atop a mountain, far, far away from any and all civilization, an immense, ancient dragon with pitch black scales and dark gray spines watched the image of the human on the horizon, chuckling nostalgically as he listened to the oratory that was being given to the world.

Suddenly, he was snapped out of his memories by the sounds of flapping wings and scales scratching against stone.

Looking down the slope of the mountain, he cast a neutral stare at the two new arrivals.

They were big dragons, both as large as he. They mirrored one another almost perfectly in form, though their demeanors and colorings were different. The one on the left was predominantly red, with a yellow underbelly and pinkish spines on his neck. He was slouched and relaxing slightly on the mountain, an air of laziness communicated through the small plumes of smoke that radiated from his mouth and nostrils. The one on the right, however, with dark green scales and lime-shaded spines, was extremely twitchy, balanced on his rear legs and agitatedly flicking his tail back and forth. His claws rubbed and scraped against one another every other second.

The black dragon hummed approvingly as he nodded at the both of them, greeting them in turn. “Sorth. Franaxis. I am pleased at your diligence in answering the call.”

Sorth snorted out a large plume of smoke in response. “As though we would have any other option, Kalurme. We have been waiting for this moment for a long time. I realize that my reputation precedes me, but please. I request  _some_  form of respect.”

Franaxis let out his own snort of derisiveness. “Respect my scaly ass...” He muttered sardonically before addressing the higher dragon. “So, tell us. How do we move?”

Kalurme bowed his head in thought for a moment before responding. “Sorth. I want you to fly as far and fast as you can. Find the hermits and recluses, and ensure that they remember their duty. We can no longer afford any form of division.”

The crimson dragon muttered darkly as he rubbed at his eyes and yawned deeply. “An arduous task. Highly taxing and laborious.”

“Can you do it?”

Sorth’s eyes snapped open instantly, an inferno burning within his eyes as smoke erupted from his mouth and nostrils. “Don’t patronize me.”

The obsidian dragon grunted flatly. “My apologies, I meant no insult.”

Sorth stared at him darkly before nodding. “Accepted.”

“Good. Now then...” Kalurme shifted his focus to the green dragon. “Franaxis. Take those who you require and reclaim our hoards. All that we have gathered and accumulated over time. Recover what is ours so that we might prefer for the coming tempest.”

Franaxis nodded swiftly. “I acknowledge my duty with honor.” He then raised his eyeridge curiously. “And what of you?”

Kalurme grunted flatly, turning his head and staring towards the caldera behind him where the rest of his kind awaited. “I shall assemble the Migration, coordinate with them. You will meet with us at the destination I intend to lead them to.”

He turned his head back and stared determinedly at the other two dragons present.

“We make north, for Vitrum.”

**-o-**

**“TO THOSE WHO HAVE FOLLOWED IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF THOSE DEARLY DEPARTED, AND WHO HAVE REMAINED FAITHFUL DESPITE THE HARDSHIPS YOU HAVE NO DOUBT UNDERGONE, I OFFER YOU MY DEEPEST AND SINCEREST GRATITUDE. SHOULD YOU CURRENTLY HAVE PLANS OF YOUR OWN AT THIS TIME, THEN I GIVE YOU FULL AUTHORITY TO CARRY THEM OUT. NEVERTHELESS, I IMPLORE YOU TO JOIN ME, SO THAT WE MIGHT STAND AS ONE, AND PRESENT A UNIFIED FRONT!”**

A light, feminine chuckle wafted out of the darkness as the onlooker watched Scholar preach his intentions.

The watcher couldn’t help but acknowledge the man’s skill as she admired the craftsmanship of his spell.

The signal that he was broadcasting his message on was immensely powerful. Anyone could intercept it and listen in on what was being said from anywhere in the world if they so desired, so long as they were aware of what they were looking for and knew what they were doing.

And she most  _certainly_  knew what she was doing.

“Each and every legend and rumor was true...” She breathed reverently, staring at the image. “You’re just as incredible as everyone says you are. More than I’d ever imagined possible...”

She chuckled again as she folded her hands beneath her chin. “Something tells me that I’m going to  _very_ much enjoy working with you.”

Her lips extended into a self-assured grin.

“I look forwards to a  _very_  fruitful relationship.”

**-o-**

**“TO THOSE WHO CARE NOT FOR THE HEAT OF WAR OR FOR THE CONFLICT AT HAND, THOSE WHOSE SOLE DESIRE IS KNOWLEDGE, AND KNOWLEDGE ALONE! I OFFER YOU SANCTUARY! THE ACADEMIA ARCANA PROMISES A PLACE TO ALL WILLING AND DESIRING TO LEARN! REGARDLESS OF FACTION AND LOYALTY, THE ACADEMIA’S SOLE CONCERN IS THE ACCUMULATION AND DISPERSION OF KNOWLEDGE, AND WILL NEVER TURN AWAY THOSE SEEKING TO LEARN!”**

A mare covered in a heavy robe stared up silently at the magus’s projection, wordlessly listening to what he had to say and steadfastly ignoring the cold of the ice beneath her hooves and the wind nipping at what skin it could reach.

After about a minute, she returned her attention to the tundra before her and began to trot forwards once more, intent on reaching the metropolis that shone on the horizon.

Without warning, she was forced to come to a halt when a cascade of snow impacted the ice in front of her, swirling and lashing out menacingly at her for a second before settling into a form akin to a large, alabaster wolf with icy blue eyes.

The wolf glared at her silently as its body rippled with the wind, its eyes meeting the mare’s beneath her hood.

The pony didn’t react. She didn’t flinch, falter, or even so much as blink.

In the end, it was the wolf who reacted first. It snorted once before dissolving back into snow and blowing away on the wind.

The mare stared after the snow despondently before turning her gaze back towards her destination and continuing forwards resolutely.

**-o-**

**“AND TO MY ADVERSARIES, YOU WHO HAVE SPURNED ME, OPPOSED ME AT EVERY TURN AND TRIED TO DO HARM TO ME AND MINE... I GIVE YOU MY SOLEMN VOW: YOU WILL SUFFER. YOU WILL KNOW PAIN, AND MISERY, AND FEAR. I PROMISE YOU THAT NO MATTER WHAT, I WILL SEE TO IT THAT YOU DO NOT PREVAIL, AND THAT ALL YOU HOLD DEAR CRUMBLES BEFORE YOU. AND IF YOU THINK THAT I HAVE WEAKENED DURING MY ABSENCE, THAT CONCORDIA IS NOW OR EVER WILL BE VULNERABLE? THEN  YOU ARE DEAD** _**WRONG.”** _

_** I̬͎̬̐̍̉̉̊ͪT̵̴̨̳̯̜̀ͯ̀̉ͯ̇̅ ** _ ****  OBSE͝RVE̷D҉ TH̡E ̵COMM̕UN̴I̸CAT̀I͝OŅ IT ̀HAD̶ H̷E͞AR͞D,͞ ACK̶N̷OWLE̢D̷GING ̡T̷H̸E WÓRD̀S SP̴O͞K҉ÈN̷.̛

_** I̬͎̬̐̍̉̉̊ͪT̵̴̨̳̯̜̀ͯ̀̉ͯ̇̅  ** _  ROAR͜E͞D̨ A̕N͢D̸ GIB̴BE͏R̢ED̶ ͟AN͡Ḑ ͢R̨AGED͟ AT̷ T̨H͏È ̨SI͝GHT͠ ͝OF͜ T̀H̀E A̷DVÈRŚAR͠Y̢, TH͜Ȩ ̸FOȨ T̶HAT ̵H̷A͟D D͟E̡N̢ĮED́  _** ͜I̬͎̬̐̍̉̉̊ͪT̵̴̨̳̯̜̀ͯ̀̉ͯ̇̅  ** _  ̴AND̴  _** ̴I̬͎̬̐̍̉̉̊ͪT̵̴̨̳̯̜̀ͯ̀̉ͯ̇̅S͠ ** _ ̸OW̶Ņ.͠

_** I̬͎̬̐̍̉̉̊ͪT̵̴̨̳̯̜̀ͯ̀̉ͯ̇̅  ** _ ̢SEET͏H̴E͡D ̸AND͢ ̀SNA̵R͠LÈD̀, ̡I͡NDIG̢NANT A͞T ̀TH̵E ̀ADVERSA̛R̷Y̸'̷S̢ TON͜E̴. T̛H̨E͘ ̧ADVER̀S͡A͘R͢Y'͟S C͏ONF̶ID͠E̢NCE̸.̀

_** I̬͎̬̐̍̉̉̊ͪT̵̴̨̳̯̜̀ͯ̀̉ͯ̇̅  ** _ ̡GR̨EW ͞QUIE͝T.

_** I̬͎̬̐̍̉̉̊ͪT̵̴̨̳̯̜̀ͯ̀̉ͯ̇̅  ** _ O̸BSE͠R̶V͢E̴D͠ ̵T͞HE̢ A̶DVE͢RS̶A͡RY.

_** I̬͎̬̐̍̉̉̊ͪT̵̴̨̳̯̜̀ͯ̀̉ͯ̇̅  ** _ NOT͡ED̸ TH̨E ADV́ÉR͡SA͟RY̸'͡S̀ ̴LÌE̡.

_** I̬͎̬̐̍̉̉̊ͪT̵̴̨̳̯̜̀ͯ̀̉ͯ̇̅  ** _ C͡ACKLE̶D̀ A͟ND ̀GUF̧FA͢WED, ̨EXUB͝E͠RA̷NT ͟I͞N  _** Ȋ̴̷̫͇̼̯̤̹̫͗͛ͅT̞̦͇̖̔̒̈́͛͌̉̅ͅͅS̷͈͍̪̒̋̑̅̓̏̏  ** _ VIĆTO͜R͝Y̢.̴

_** ̨I̬͎̬̐̍̉̉̊ͪT̵̴̨̳̯̜̀ͯ̀̉ͯ̇̅  ** _ C҉O̸N̵TA̧CT̡ED̨ ͝THE̶  _** Ö͚̼̱̦̪͕̻̎ͦ͗ͤ͐̀ͅŤ̘̝ͦ͒̾̾͑̽͠H̶̱͓̩̩͍̝̓ͥͣ͋E͌̄͆ͤ̋͋̉҉̗͉̤͇͖͔͓R̼̦̯̹̫͎̫ͤͬ͞͠S̨̗̺̬̼̓̎ͦ̆͌ ** _ ,̶ ͡I̧NF̀O̢RME͡D͞  _** T͚̖͎̹̼̹̩̹ͭ̚͘͢͡H̱̣ͤ̇͠͡ͅͅE͙͉̳͍̗̣͔̼ͪ̒̀̓̋ͩ̕͘Ḿ̧̰͚͈̮̀ͫ͆́ͯ  ** _ OF ̕TH͡E ̴D͝E̴V͜EL̸O̶PM̵ENT̕.

_** T̯̼̩̣͍͙̰ͤͯ̓̈́H̰̖͔̯͓̺ͯ̋͗͐E̟͇̲͈̺̦͋ͯͨ̑̀̊Y̡̳͕̠͈̿̀  ** _ B͠EGAN͝ ̛TO̴ SE̕A͡RC̨H O̡U҉T͡ W͠ḨA̸T͡ W҉ÀS RI̕G͞HTF͡UL̀L͠Y̧  _** T͉̗̹͊͋̈͑͌͘͢͢H̵͍͉͚͑̉ͪ͛̈̋E̘̙̱̅͋̓̇̔͟I̼̬̯̘̠̥̮̓̈ͭR̷͓̹̯̱̦̳͔ͫͮ̉̚͜S̷͑̋ͫͤ̒ͤ̍̒͏̗̯ ** _ .

_** T̯̼̩̣͍͙̰ͤͯ̓̈́H̰̖͔̯͓̺ͯ̋͗͐E̟͇̲͈̺̦͋ͯͨ̑̀̊Y̡̳͕̠͈̿̀  ** _ ͜PRE҉PĄR̀ED T̡O͜ REC̕LA͏IM̢  _** T̳̮͖̩̉͊͂ͮ͑̅H͂͛̽͠͏̥͖E̴̮͇ͫͤͥ̍ͫ̀I̡̢̯̬͙͋͑̈́ͨ̓̓̾ͩ̋͞ͅR̴̷̼̖͓̼̼̪͉̗̒  ** _ K͢IN̵GD̵ƠM͟.

_** T̯̼̩̣͍͙̰ͤͯ̓̈́H̰̖͔̯͓̺ͯ̋͗͐E̟͇̲͈̺̦͋ͯͨ̑̀̊Y̡̳͕̠͈̿̀ ͙̬͍̜̲̣͍͒͗ͭ̀̆͠Čͮ̑̒̄ͩ̄̑҉̤̳̱̬̦̼̕A̞̻͔͙͙̻̼ͭ͋̿͛͐́͠M̛̬̘͔͖ͤ͂̏̏͆ͩ́͢E͖̍ͯ̑̆̕̕. ** _

 

**-o-**

**“AND FINALLY... TO THOSE WHO STAND ON THE SIDE OF THOSE WHO OPPOSE ME, BUT HOLD NO IRE FOR ME, AND SEEK TO DO ME NO HARM. MY QUARREL IS NOT, NOR HAS IT EVER BEEN, WITH THE INNOCENT. SO LONG AS YOU DO NOT SEEK TO OPPOSE ME, I WILL NOT GO OUT OF MY WAY TO INJURE YOU. THIS, I SOLEMNLY SWEAR.”**

Fleur observed the martini glass she was levitating for a moment, idly contemplating it before setting it down on a nearby table.

She then grabbed the bottle of gin that was also on the table, brought it to her mouth and started to chug it.

“Do save some for me, dear.” A reassuringly familiar voice requested in an only semi-joking manner.

Fleur de Lis shot him a scathing look as she set the bottle down. “And I assume that  _you_  know of a better means through which to cope with the situation at hand? Because honestly, I can’t quite think of one!”

Fancy Pants rubbed his wife’s back reassuringly. “Well,  _not_  getting blind drunk is a start in my honest opinion. After all, this Scholar fellow _did_  just just state that he intended no harm towards ponies like us, who don’t intend to harm him.”

“Noooo, he just intends to destroy our diarchy and shatter our nation.” Fleur deadpanned flatly.

The blue-maned stallion grimaced and rubbed the back of his head with his hoof. “Personal survival trumps patriotism, love.” He then nuzzled her reassuringly. “I’d rather live with you in the ashes of Equestria then risk losing you defending it.”

Fleur de Lis gave her husband a sad look before sighing heavily and nuzzling him back. “I... I suppose you have a point. It’s just... just...” Her ear flicked as she noticed something on the edge of her hearing and looked out over the edge of the balcony she and her husband were sitting on. “Just what in Equestria is  _that?”_  She jabbed her hoof at the mass of throbbing lights that was on the other side of Canterlot.

Fancy Pants narrowed his eyes as he observed the lightshow before nodding in recognition. “Ah, yes, that appears to be Vinyl Scratch’s, or DJ-Pon3’s, club. It appears that she’s starting quite the ruckus.”

“Now!? What possible reason could she have!?” Fleur sputtered in disbelief.

“Hmm... at a guess...” Fancy Pants shot his wife a cheeky grin. “She’s trying to have one final fling before the world ends?”

The unicorn laughed as his wife huffed in mock-indignation and slapped his shoulder with her hoof.

However, he immediately stopped when Fleur leaned against him, resting the majority of her weight on him. He immediately raised his leg and put it around her shoulder comfortingly.

“What will we do, Fancy Pants?” She asked quietly.

Fancy Pants sighed tiredly as he stared up at Scholar’s deific form.

“We do what we always do, my dearest Fleur...” He whispered.

“We muddle through.”

**-o-**

**“CONSIDER MY WORDS, RESIDENTS OF MUNDUS. CONSIDER THEM WELL, AND PREPARE YOURSELVES, FOR YOUR WORLD IS ABOUT TO CHANGE IN WAYS YOU CANNOT EVEN** _**BEGIN** _ **TO IMAGINE. GOODBYE, MUNDUS, GOODBYE.”**

And with that, Scholar snapped his Lexicon shut and chopped his hand through the arrays before him, dispersing them and ending the broadcast. The human huffed heavily for a moment before wheeling around and spreading his arms wide. “Well, what did you think?”

“Mmm...” Chrysalis waved her hoof side to side in a so-so manner. “Not bad, not bad. Admittedly a little overblown in places, but you got the message through.”

“Indeed,” Seath nodded in agreement. “With any luck, our allies now see the flag behind which they can rally.”

“You’re telling me!” Gilda cackled eagerly. “Everyone and their grandmother heard that! If this doesn’t light a fire under some asses, nothing will!”

“The Great and Powerful Trixie couldn’t agree more!” The silver-armored mare smirked in agreement. “You put on a performance worthy of her stage!”

“Are you certain that such an overt message was necessary?” Ironwill questioned cautiously.

Scholar nodded solemnly at the minotaur. “It was. We needed to send a message, establish our stance. We’re entering this war fast and furious. I want to make sure that we do it right. And hey, don’t worry!” He grinned cheekily. “This isn’t the first time I’ve done this you know!” His smile died for  an instance before he grimaced. “Wow, this is the second time in my life that I’ve declared war on the world and rallied allies to fight by my side. That  _really_  says something about my life.”

“Ha! Like the rest of the shit you do isn’t batshit fucking crazy already!” Gavrill barked.

“Aaaanyways!” Nix cut in.

“What do we do now, boss?” Null cut in.

Scholar glanced at them before smiling madly. He started to march towards the runic cages holding his prisoners.

“Now? Now we move on to the final part of our display here today.”

He halted before one cage in particular and smirked at its occupant.

“And  _you’re_  going to help me.”


	22. Upping the Ante

Pinkie Pie blinked, looking back and forth to find who Scholar was addressing before looking back up at him and pointing her hoof at herself. “Me?”

“Yes,” Scholar nodded in confirmation, waving his hand and dismissing the cage she was in.

“You.”

“Just for the record?” Nix piped up. “If you’re thinking about running? Take my advice: don’t.”

“Or do!” Null cackled eagerly as he cocked a massive crossbow. “I’m fine with either! Nix is just sore because me and Veronica are neck and neck in sharpshooting, while  _she_  isn’t even in the running!”

“NOT TRUE!” The green golem protested.

“Kind of true.” Veronica waved her hand in a so-so manner.

“Maybe true...” Nix admitted begrudgingly.

“Ummm... excuse me?” The pink pony raised her hoof as she grinned sheepishly. “While I can appreciate some good black comedy... though I’m not sure how much of that you guys were joking about... what did you want my help with?”

Scholar grinned eagerly as he leaned forwards and loomed over the pony. “I... want you...”

The magus paused.

Nix and Null chuckled ominously, rubbing their hands together in anticipation.

Veronica rolled her eyes, Gavrill scoffed and Fran sighed at their creator’s antics.

Gilda, Trixie and Iron Will looked at one another, exchanging looks of eager anticipation.

Chrysalis raised her hoof to hide her smirk, Seath shook his head in mock exasperation despite his grin, Priscilla examined her nails in a bored manner and Cadance hung her head as she let out a tired groan.

Rotfang, Lacewing and Chitter grinned and chuckled maliciously, though to be honest they’d been doing that for awhile now.

Within their cages, Rarity swayed back and forth nervously on her hooves, Rainbow Dash and Applejack glared viciously at the human mage, though their determination was betrayed by the slight shaking in their legs.

Twilight’s eyes darted about in confusion as she tried to think of a solution to their dilemma, and Fluttershy... the cream pegasus glanced around to make sure no one was watching before slipping a flask out of her feathers and taking a hasty swig from it and hiding it once more.

Spike swallowed nervously as he watched with trepidation... and barely restrained fascination.

Pinkie was the most high-strung of the lot. She was seated on her rear as she rapidly gnawed on the tips of her hooves, her eyes widened to an almost comical degree as she watched the decisive factor in her fate.

Silence reigned as all present awaited what Scholar had to say with-

“GET ON WITH IT ALREADY!” Pinkie cried as she flailed her hooves wildly.

Scholar chuckled at her reaction. “Alright, alright. I need you...”

“To throw a party.”

A second passed. Then two.

Finally...

“YOU CREATED ALL THAT TENSION JUST TO ASK ME TO THROW YOU A STINKING PARTY!?” The pink pony shrieked indignantly.

“Not just any party!” Scholar scoffed in mock offense. “The  _best_  party you can, city-wide, to commemorate the liberation of Vitrum! We need the best, and from what I’ve seen and heard, you  _are_  the best!”

“Yeah!” Nix added eagerly. “We want you to throw the patriarch of all paloozas!”

“The sultan of shindigs!” Null provided.

“The sovereign of soirees?” Fran provided airily.

“The biggest of blasts!” Veronica added with uncharacteristic childish glee.

“The oligarch of wild, untamed-!”

“HELL NO!” The mage and his other four creations roared indignantly.

“OH SCREW YOU GUYS!” Gavrill roared.

“We’d rather not, thanks...” Fran rolled her eyes.

“Aww, but it’s the only kind of party I’ve never thrown!” Pinkie complained, her forelegs crossed.

“Believe me, you’re not missing out on much, especially where Gavrill’s involved. Fran always has to stitch  _way_  too many people together once they’re done for my comfort.” Scholar groused before coughing into his fist. “Ahem, right, anyways...” He gave Pinkie a kind grin. “The fact of the matter is, this is a day to celebrate, and I would very much like it to be in style. The reception you threw was grand until we interrupted, which I would like to apologize for. I trust that none of my associates have any complaints?”

Trixie and Iron Will looked at one another before shrugging indifferently.

Gilda grimaced as though she’d swallowed a particularly vile insect and glared at the Party Pony as though she’d like nothing more than to open her throat (which she really would) before sighing heavily. “It might have been meant for dweebs, but I guess that the part of her party I saw was only  _half_  lame. I can bite my tongue.”

“We just wanna drink booze and have fun!” Lacewing chortled.

“The source doesn’t matter to us!” His twin snorted.

“Personally, I’d rather snack on the fuckface than party with her...” Gavrill grinned ferociously.

“Yeeees,” Veronica rolled her eyes. “And I’d rather see you act decent in some way, shape or form, but we both know  _that’s_  never going to-!” SLAM! “-GAH!” The short assassin flinched as her elder sister rammed her fist down on top of her head. The two bared their teeth and growled directly into one another’s faces before suddenly flying into a violent frenzy of limbs and blades.

Spike swallowed uneasily as he observed the fray. “Are, uh, they going to be okay?”

“After I get through with putting them back together?” Fran asked darkly as she cranked one of her bolts and played with a scalpel. “Debatable.  _Highly_  debatable.”

“Eh, this happens all the time, ignore them.” Scholar waved the fight off. “Anyways, back on subject, you will, of course, be properly compensated for your troubles. So... what do you say?”

Pinkie Pie blinked slowly before stretching her mouth in a face-splitting grin. “What do I say!? HECK-!”

“PINKIE!” Four feminine shrieks and one squeak rang out.

Pinkie flinched before retracting her eager smile to a shaky grin. “Ah, on second thought, I’m gonna have to take a raincheck on that. I-I just don’t have the supplies, not to mention I need time to plan it out...” She continued to smile nervously as she used one of her hooves to slide the papers lying around her into her tail. “Sorry... maybe I can help you throw a victory party some other time?”

The pink pony swallowed nervously when Scholar didn’t react, merely pursing his lips as he looked down at her.

Finally, he shrugged and took a step back. “Hey, that’s fine, it’s your choice. It’s not like I can force you, anyways.”

“But first!” The red golem floated next to the pink mare and held out a pair of crimson metal headphones. “Here! A gift from us to you! If you’d put this on, there’s a song I’d like you to listen to!”

Pinkie blinked in surprise before smiling and slipping the headphones over her ears and poofy mane. “Sure!”

“Oh, here, let me help you with that!” Nix’s grin could be heard in her voice as she floated near Pinkie and began fiddling with the phones, green magic snapping out of her digits and into the device.

“Thanks! So, uh...” Pinkie tilted her head as she watched Null toy with the a small red box that had multiple buttons and dials on it. “What song are you going to play? A heartsong? A Hearth’s Warming Eve carol? The Parasprite Polka?”

“Wait, you guys still know that one?” Null asked in shock. “Huh, I’ll be damned. That song was old when I was young. I guess nothing really  _can_  kill polka after all... but anyways, nope! None of the above!”

“Awww...” Pinkie slumped sadly before perking up. “So, what is it? What is it? What is it?”

“Ohhh, just a little ditty known ‘The Mad Eldritch Ramblings of an Anchorite of the Chaos Prince of Pleasure and Debauchery’.” Null’s nonexistent grin widened as he slowly cranked up a knob on the box he was holding. “Played in three hundred decibels. An oldie but a goody.”

“Wait a minute,” Scholar said in the background, tapping his chin in contemplation. “That title sounds familiar…”

“Ooooh, that sounds like fun!” Pinkie clopped her hooves together eagerly before frowning as a thought struck her. “Wait... no it do-!”

Null slammed his fist down on a button on the box.

_**F͚͓̬̪ͪO̧̪̲̝̖̻̱͚R̞̭͓ͭ̇̈ͩ̑͌A͖̟̤͠Z̴͖̙O͉̠̺̺͇̰͎ͧͦͪ̓ͥ͊O̷̰͚͎̪̠O̜̮̐̌̒́̽͜O̫͔̕O̟͓͇̹̠ͣO͙̳̖͆̓͂̊͌ͅOͯO͖̟̮̅̆̕S̴͎̺̤̹̓̍̃̽͑̌̿H͓̫̰͔̏̆̑̓̋̕A̹̪͔̦ͮ͆ͤͧ͂͜!̨̮͎̗̱̑̿ͅ** _

“-owoahwoah _woahwoahWOAHWOAHWAA_ _ **AAAAAGH!”**_  Pinkie shrieked as she slapped her hooves to the headphones clamped over her ears, which were now glowing with violent, arcane energy.

The sound... It wasn’t a song. It wasn’t anywhere even close to a song. It was noise. Pure, unabated and untethered noise, unlike anything she had ever heard. No... not heard...  _felt._  This sound, this entity of vibrations, it  _coursed_  through her, every  _inch_  of her. From the tips of every hair on her body to the depths of her soul, she shook and shook and shook, wildly and violently. And within the noise,  _ **something**_... _resided._   _ **It**_  was all  _ **it**_ could be identified as.  _ **It**_  examined her, searched her,  _touched_  the very core of her being.

_**It**_ was... _ **it was...!**_

“G’night everybody!” Null proclaimed as he slammed the button once anew.

The noise ceased.

Pinkie Pie’s eyes shot as wide as they could go as every limb in her body went ramrod straight... before slumping forwards and faceplanting.

Null blinked numbly. “Uhhh...”

Nix poked the pink mare’s head slightly. “Was that supposed to happen?”

“PINKIE!” Twilight cried, pounding her hooves against the cage.

“What did ya’ll  _do_  to her!?” Applejack demanded.

“Err...” Null stuttered nervously as he slipped the headphones off of Pinkie’s head and placed it and the box back in his hands. “N-nothing _bad,_  just had her listen to a-a-a  _remix_  of mine! It’s got a bit of pop, a bit of rock-!”

“Nuuuull...” Scholar growled, the runes floating around him starting to whip into a frenzy.

“Maaaaaaybe a bit too much pure, unrestrained Slaaneshan chaos magic?” Nix chuckled in what she  _hoped_  was an innocent manner.

Back at the cages, Twilight blanched as she took in the implications of that statement.

**“WHAT!?”**

The twins flinched and grabbed each other in desperate mortal terror.

Scholar growled furiously as he loomed over the two golems, magic raging around him in a torrent of corporal fury.  **“I give you explicit orders that none of these six be harmed under most any circumstances, and you pump her with enough mad, rabid magic to** _ **melt her brains!? WHAT IN HADES’ UNHOLY HELL WERE YOU THINKING!?”**_

“O-oh no…” came a quiet voice from the cages.

“W-w-we thought she could take it!” The green golem protested. “I-I mean, come on! You saw her! She’s loopy beyond belief, and her magic is off the charts for an untrained Earth Pony! I-if anyone could withstand that kind of a jolt, it’d be her!”

“A-after that, well...” Null rubbed the back of his head uneasily. “With her personality and the usual disposition of Slaaneshi magic, we thought she’d... well... uh...”

“Go on a city-wide party rampage?” Chrysalis supplied flatly.

“Uh-huh...” The pair nodded slowly.

Scholar didn’t say anything. The storm of runes around him said it all.

“GAHAHA! You two are  _so_  screwed!” Gavrill cackled as she took advantage of a lull in her fight to hold Veronica down. “Hey, old man, mind if I have the honor of cracking these little shitstain open? HAHA-GAH!”

She roared in pain when a blade lashed out from Veronica’s robes, slicing her hands off and liberating her younger sister, who rolled out from beneath her and scrambled to her feet. Gavrill growled at her sibling for a moment, but didn’t react beyond sticking her stumps back to her appendages and reattaching them. Veronica reacted by sticking her tongue out at her.

“W-w-wait!” Null waved his hands hastily. “H-hang on, hang on! We d-don’t  _really_  know that she’s dead yet! We can still fix this!”

Nix grabbed Pinkie’s shoulders and began shaking them violently. “Come on, come on, wake up, wake up, or else  we’re going to become so much scrap rune stone!”

The only response was a sound exactly like a cowbell ringing from Pinkie’s head as it lolled about.

“Err...” Nix stopped and looked at her brother. “I’m confused. Is that a good sign or a bad sign?”

“Ah ‘unno...”Null shrugged flatly.

“You... you-!” Rainbow seethed in disbelief.

“N-now let’s not be hasty here!” Null looked at his younger, labcoat-wearing sister desperately. “Fraaaan, save us before they skin us alive!”

Fran rolled her eyes wearily at her sibling’s tiresome antics before walking over and kneeling down next to the incapacitated mare. Two of her hands held up her shoulders, while her third and fourth stabilized her head. Her fifth hand held one of her eyes open, and the sixth fished a penlight from her coat and shined it into said eye.

“Hmm...” The mad doctor hummed. “It would appear that her pupil is contracting...”

“Oh thank Hermes!” Cadance breathed in relief.

“And expanding.”

The Alicorn blinked in confusion. “Wait, what?”

“And contracting, and expanding... hm?” Fran tilted her head in confusion. “Remind me, what color were this mare’s eyes again?”

“Light blue?” Twilight provided hesitantly.

“...you’re  _certain_  that they weren’t lime- oh, never mind, it’s amber now.” Fran sighed heavily as she slowly set the mare down. “Well, the good news is that her gray matter  _wasn’t_  liquified...”

“YES!” The Golem Twins crowed, even as a massive sigh of relief came from the ponies.

“It was merely  _scrambled_  into a fine mash.” She deadpanned. “Frankly, I’m surprised it's not flowing out of her orifices.”

Nix and Null froze as terrified squeaks escaped them.

“You...”

They slowly turned to face the rune cages where the ponies were being held, and blinked in honest shock at the amount of magic that was starting to build in Twilight Sparkle’s cage. The unicorn was sitting on her haunches and her head was bowed, but her entire being was shaking violently, and not just her horn but the very  _air_  around her was shining with violet light.

“You...” She growled darkly. Twilight snapped her head up, displaying eyes illuminated by a violent aura of violet light.  **“YOU MONSTERS!”**  She screamed as she unleashed a massive wave of magic.

Nix and Null swallowed nervously as the magic pressed against the walls of her cage... and jumped in shock when the runes started to outright  _fracture._

“Booooooss?” They chorused fearfully.

Scholar was silent for a full minute as he watched the cage begin to buckle under the raw power assaulting it before sighing heavily. “Alright, that’s enough of that.” In a fluid motion, Scholar snapped his grimoire open, brought his hand to the pages and sent a roiling sphere of runes at the cage.

In an instant, the fractures were repaired and the thickness of the arcane walls redoubled. A pulse from the runes jarred Twilight’s concentration, rocking her back and snapping her out of her rage.

“Sorry about that, Twilight, but you’re simply not in an appropriate state of mind.” Scholar apologized neutrally. “I honestly  _did_  just want Pinkie’s help with a party, that’s all.”

Twilight shook as she stared at the human before allowing tears to flow down her cheeks. “They... they killed her...” She grit out. “They need to  _pay.”_

”Trust me...” He levelled an acidic glare at the globular golems. “These two will  _definitely_ pay for their transgressions. Sapientslaughter, first degree. This will  _not_  be taken lightly.”

Nix and Null glanced at one another before clenching their fists and nodding firmly. “We acknowledge our mistakes...” They chorused. “And we will atone for them. As is fair.”

“I suppose that that is all that can be done.” Seath rumbled. “Now... if you please... a moment of silence for Pinkie Pie.”

“Why would ruffians such as  _you_  care for her death?” Rarity asked miserably. “Especially after… ugh… killing so many today?”

Chrysalis sniffed indignantly. “Say what you will of us, but we do  _not_  kill the innocent. We protected you and yours because you were civilians, and thus had no part in this conflict. Those who died were soldiers serving Equestria. All is fair in love and war, and our war is with them, not you. The death of an innocent is as tragic for us as it is for you. Now please...” The matriarch bowed her head solemnly.

Seath, Scholar, and all present followed suit. Even Gilda looked down, albeit after Iron Will forced her head and with a scowl on her beak. For the first time in hours, silence descended upon the square. It was tranquil. Peaceful. Qui-

_**“THIS QUIET OFFENDS SLAANESH!”** _

“GWAAGH!”

“HOLY HELL!”

“HOLD ME!”

“HOLD YOURSELF!”

The group reeled back in shock as they attempted to process the sound that had erupted from...

“PINKIE PIE!?” Twilight yelped in disbelief.

It  _was_  Pinkie Pie... after a fashion. The mare was standing on her rear hooves without any aid, her forelegs spread wide as her chest heaved violently, her tongue lolling out of her mouth without control. Her eyes were wide as a mad light and utter chaos dancing liberally within her pupils, and her mane and tail shook and writhed like a formless mass of feelers.

“How in tarnation-!?” Applejack sputtered.

“Scholar.” Gilda stated flatly. “Is that dweeb high on chaos magic?”

“Unimaginably so, yes.” Scholar deadpanned.

“Ah. Just wanted to make sure. Scholar?”

“Yeah?”

“You don’t pay me anywhere close to enough for this shit.”

“Believe you me, I know the feeling all too well.”

Meanwhile, the ponies were attempting to communicate with their friend.

“Hey, Pinkie, are you alright?” Rainbow Dash asked.

Pinkie Pie didn’t react. Verbally at least.

“Um, girls?” Fluttershy asked. “I  _think_  she’s vibrating.”

Cadance groaned and brought her hoof to her forehead as the Party Pony’s entire body shook from head to toe, faster and faster. “This is going to be... interesting.”

Without rhyme, reason or warning, Pinkie jerkily ripped a very large, very  _distorted_  object that somewhat looked like her Party Cannon from her mane, rammed it into the ground, and pointed it straight up.

_**“THINGS SHALL GET FESTIVE NOW!”** _

**BOOM!**

The cannon let off a massive swirling blast of technicolor light and energy that rose high into the air, followed closely by the eyes of all present as it rose and slowly came to a halt in the air.

Then... it pulsed outwards, a wave of energy and chaos and grew nearly a quarter of its original size.

“Err... should we take cover?” Lacewing asked hesitantly as he took a step backwards.

Another pulse, another surge in size.

“Be honest, has that  _ever_  aided us in such situations before?” Priscilla drawled.

Pulse and grow.

“Eh heh heh heh... fair point...” Rotfang chuckled morbidly.

Pulse... and shrink to the size of a marble.

“Dearest brother...” Nix deadpanned.

“Yes dearest sister?” Null asked in the same tone.

“This is gonna suck, isn’t it, dearest brother?”

“Absolutely, dearest sister.”

“I just wanted to confirm.”

Pulse... and  _ **EXPLODE!**_

The group gave cries and shouts of shock and surprise as the wave of manic, prismatic energy engulfed everything around them.

When the light finally dissipated...

Scholar blinked slowly as he looked down at himself. “Chrysalis...” He asked slowly. “Am I wearing a hawaiian lei?”

“That depends.” Chrysalis deadpanned as she stared upwards. “Am I wearing a  _fruit hat?”_

“Yes.”

“Then yes.”

The Oligarchs weren’t the only ones who had been party-fied. The entire  _plaza_  had been redecorated in the sacred name of all-out partying. The floor was layered with glowing, illuminated panels, streamers and crystal-themed decorations hung from every awning, and row after row of food-loaded buffet tables. Even the bystanders, those in meant-to-be-impenetrable-cages included, were redecorated in varying party-themed paraphernilia.

Dominating the square was a  _massive_  sound-system of loudspeakers and amplifiers, all set up next to a stage. And standing on that stage were-

“Vinyl Scratch!?” Rainbow Dash exclaimed in shock.

“Octavia Philharmonica!?” Twilight sputtered. “What are you two doing here?!”

Vinyl shrugged indifferently as she worked on calibrating the impressive sound-system before her. “Heck if I know! One sec I'm throwin' a kickass party at my club with Octi hangin' around to make sure I don't do anything too radical, the next thing we know, Pinkie shows up out of nowhere, shoves a bag full of bits onto us in exchange for us agreeing to play tandem for some party, and here we are!”

“The mare might be insane and I might not enjoy having to debase my honorable art by combining it with my roommate’s...  _noise,_ ” Octavia shuddered as she finished tuning her cello and stood on her hindlegs. “But, a job’s a job and bits are bits. I’ve learned not to question these things. Now then, Vinyl, as you so often like to say...” She prepped her bow. “Hit it.”

[And hit it they did.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqB1MbXSeGk)

The floor tiles began to flash and throb in time with the rhythm, and rays and patterns of lights shone down from above, dancing across the dance floor and reflecting off the- the...

“Where did that crazy mare get a fifteen-foot wide disco ball and how in the name of heck did she hang it by herself?” Gilda asked, scratching the part of the [techno helmet](http://cdn.instructables.com/F4C/6DC9/GZHJZBMX/F4C6DC9GZHJZBMX.LARGE.jpg) that was covering her skull in confusion.

“Iron Will is more confused about what she’s hanging it on,” the minotaur replied, absentmindedly rubbing one of the sequins on his sparkly purple vest.

“What do you mean, ‘what’s she hanging it on’? It’s on the…. uh, the….” Gilda trailed off as she looked up to the palace up above... which was still quite a bit above the disco ball itself, and smooth as glass. “Oh….”

“Forget about her!” Trixie grinned as she materialized a mirror in front of her and admired the large silver pompadour that she was sporting. “Trixie looks  _fabulous!”_

“I’m with ya there, sexy mama!” Null concurred as he ran a comb through the large blond version he was somehow rocking. He whipped on a pair of sunglasses and shot a finger pistol at his sister. “Ayyy.” He crooned in a deep voice.

“Tsk!” Nix flipped her multi-colored string like hair over her nonexistent shoulder as she readjusted her sunglasses. “ _So_  retro.”

“Oh, like you have any room to talk on that front, oldtimer!” Gavrill snarled as she fought with the insanely tight and sparkly jeans she was wearing. “And by the way, that pink mare is goin’ too far! I mean, come the fuck on!” She ripped a wad of fabric out of the back of the pants. “I was wearin’  _underwear_ here!”

“Speakin’ of the mare of the hour...” Rotfang started.

“Has anyone actually  _seen_  her?” Lacewing asked as he glanced around.

“I actually think she went that way!” Chitter giggled... as he pointed in two directions at once.

“Hmm...” Priscilla closed her eyes for a moment before sighing. “I’m afraid my connection to the security systems isn’t quite good enough. Father, can you-snrk!” The homunculus’s words were cut off by a hastily repressed snort when she actually  _looked_  at her father.

“Let’s see...” The crystalline dragon conjured a map before his eyeless face and cocked an eyebrow. “It... would appear that she is party-fying the entire metropolis sector by sector. She’s already gotten the west half of the Lucente District, and-!” He cut off and stared at the array in shock. “She... just moved up to the Overloft. From an area without a bridge or transport.”

“Y- _snort!-_ yeah!” Rainbow Dash snickered as she fought to keep her laughter in. “P-pinkie Pie can be l-like that!”

Seath slowly turned his head and glared down at the smaller figures below him. “Dare I ask  _what_  she did to me?”

“Ooooh... nothing  _too_  drastic.” Scholar smirked innocently.

“I-indeed!” Chrysalis chuckled. “Y-you can’t even-!”

“AFRO! YOU’RE WEARING A RAINBOW AFRO! NO ONE IS SAYING IT, BUT YOU’RE WEARING A HUGE, GIGANTIC RAINBOW AFRO! YOU DESERVE TO BE IN A CIRCUS WITH A RUBBER NOSE THROWING CREAM PIES BECAUSE  _YOU_  SIR ARE WEARING AN AFRO!”

All sound in the plaza,  _including_  the music, suddenly stopped, the sound of a needle scratching on a record ringing out. Everyone stared in shock at the speaker as she huffed and puffed heavily.

“My  _word_ , Fluttershy!” Rarity exclaimed.

“Uhh...” The shy mare hid herself in her hair as she gave Seath a sheepish grin. “Oops? Eheheh... heh... ehh...”

The dragon cocked his eyebrow again before reaching up and flicking the wig off his skull. “Riiiight. Anyways...” He affixed the twins with a somehow caustic glare. “In the time it took us to make this conversation, the mad pony has turned my entire city into a madhouse and she’s coming back here showing no signs of slowing down. I can appreciate a good celebration, but if she redecorates me again,  _so help me-!”_

“We can fix it!” Nix and Null chorused hastily.

“You’d damn well better, otherwise you’re both in  _big_  trouble!” Scholar threatened.

“”Wait, were’nt those two varmints facin’ charges earlier!?” Applejack demanded.

“You’d be surprised how often death winds up being negated...” Fran hummed happily. “With the progress we made back then, we often had to drop cases on accidents with a pleasurable frequency...”

“Yes yes,  _you_  appreciated it, but it made things  _so_  difficult for us assassins!” Veronica groused as she absentmindedly inspected one of her throwing knives. “We had to recheck  _so_  many targets...”

“Yes, yes, being a professional killer is a difficult profession, we know, we know.” Chrysalis dismissed her. “To put things simply, no crime, no time. Anyways, how do you two plan on making Pinkie stand still long enough to... ‘fix it’?”

“Oh, that’s easy!” Nix replied. “We just need to... uh… we can… Null, help me out here.”

“Don’t look at me, I got nothing,” Null shrugged. “I mean, if we can hold her still, we can use my emergency tuna to slap the chaos out, but, well... the ‘holding still’ part is the clincher.”

“Yu haf an emergency tuna?” Spike asked as he munched on the gem-encrusted gold necklace he was wearing. What the heck was a ‘pimp’ anyways?

“You don’t?” The red golem asked in honest shock.

“Scholar, could you maybe-?” Nix started hesitantly.

“Nope, you guys made this mess, you’re cleaning it up on your own,” he replied as he casually inspected his fingernails. “And don’t think anyone else is going to help you, because if they do, they deal with me... actually, on second thought, they deal with Gavrill who I’ll pay fifty credits.”

“FUCK YEAH!” The carnivorous woman cackled as she messily tore into a meat platter.

“Tempting, but no,” Veronica said.

“I’d rather not...” Fran waved her hands airily.

“Nope.”

“No thanks.”

“Yeah, you guys brought this on yourselves.”

“Trixie is entirely too busy being  _fabulous!_  Not to mention staying alive... why does she suddenly feel like breaking into song?”

“TRAITORS!” Nix yelled. “YOU’RE ALL TRAITORS!”

“Nix, shut up, I’m trying to think!” Null yelled, panic creeping into his voice.

“Y-yeah! You’re right!” His sister nodded desperately. “S-still, come on! We can do this! How many times have we captured rampant chaos-mad individuals in the past?”

“Half a dozen, but that’s besides the point! None of them had the kind of space-time fuckery this one does!”

“W-well, what about plan N.D. Sigma Soilent Green? That works on other teleporters, it should work on her!”

“It might, except where are we going to find saran wrap in that kind of bulk on such short notice?”

“Well, excuse me for actually having an idea! I don’t see you coming up with one!”

“Uh, guys?” Rainbow said, holding her hoof up for attention.

“I have ideas! I just know that spouting out every half-baked idea that I think of doesn’t help if we’re not fighting a mind reader!”

“Half-baked?! I’ll have you know that plan was  _three-quarters_  baked! At least!”

“With what?! Soggy flour and cockroaches?!”

“Oh forget it.” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes in exasperation before looking over at Rarity. “Hey, Rarity, remember how you called me popping my neck a disgusting and offensive habit?”

“Err...” The fashionista raised her eyebrow in confusion. “Yes, but what does that have to do with-?”

“I  _Pinkie Promise_  not to pop my neck again! Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!” Rainbow Dash went through the motions and proceeded to crack her neck left and right, producing an audible popping noise. “Alright, she should be here s-!”

_**“Y͢OU ͟B̛ROKE͏ A̕ ͏P͡IN̶KIE̕ ͝P̴R̶OMIS̀E̵!̕”** _

“YEAGH!” Rainbow Dash slammed her back against the far side of her cage as she tried to distance herself from the incensed mare-shaped fluffy form that was pressing herself against the runic walls as hard as she could.

“RaINbow Da **aA** Ashh...” Pinkie growled angrily. “I h _OP_ e yoU’re  **REA** _dy,_  Be _c_ **a** use I’m-!”

**ZAP!**

_** “MMPH!?” ** _

“I got her!” Nix cried, struggling to maintain the emerald ropes of energy that were wrapped around the doubly chaotic filly. “Now Null! Hit her hit her hit her-!”

SLAP!

Nix was silent for a moment before peeling the large fish off her face. “Try again, dingus.”

“Aheheheh...” The golem chuckled before reeling back. “Alright, hold her still, aaaand...”

**SLAP!**

“WHEE!!!” Pinkie squealed as she spun around from the force of the fish, vibrant colors flying out of her in waves before dissipating into thin air. Finally, when it was over, she plopped down on her stomach, eyes rolling in her skull as she giggled madly. In a normal way. “Heeheeheeheehee! That was fun! Do it again, do it again!”

“How the heck did you use a tuna to expel chaos magic from my friend!?” Twilight asked in disbelief. “I mean, come on, a  _tuna!?_  That- that-!”

“It doesn’t make any sense?” Cadance supplied lightly.

“Yeah, exactly, it doesn’t make-! Any...” Twilight jabbed her hoof at her foalsitter before trailing off as a sense of semi-understanding came over her. “Ooooooh...”

“Hey, you, crazy mare who’s actually kind of funny!” Nix leaned over Pinkie and held up a trio of fingers. “How many fingers am I holding up?”

“What kind of question is that? Three, silly!”

“She’s okay!” Null proclaimed.

“You know, the colors floating around them are _really_  pretty!”

“She ain’t okay.” Applejack deadpanned.

Nix was silent for a moment before taking hold of a pair of Pinkie’s eyelids, pulling them  _way_  wider than eyelids had any right to go and thoroughly examining her eyeball. “Actually... I think she might be  _more_  than okay.”

Null hastily scribbled on a cue card with a stone marker and held it up for Pinkie to see. “Can you describe what you see here?”

“Hmm...” Pinkie tapped her chin in thought before bouncing eagerly. “Oh! Oh! Is it a whale? A dolphin? A toothpick? A Marzipan Mascarpone Meringue Madness? A supersonic VTOL jet?”

“No, no, not even remotely, don’t know what that is, and do  _you_  even know what that is?”

“Nope!”

Rarity craned her neck to get a better look at what her friend was looking at before frowning. “Umm... Pinkie, dear?”

“Yes Rarity?”

“That’s a blank sign.”

“To the untrained eye, yes.” Null nodded in agreement. “However, it seems that Pinkie’s eye  _is_  trained. Barely.  _Just_  barely.”

“Hmm...” Nix stared at Pinkie thoughtfully before looking at her creator. “Boss?”

Scholar frowned and flicked through his novel for a moment before shrugging. “Screw it, couldn’t hurt. Go ahead.”

“Right.” Nix nodded before bringing up two of her fingers in front of Pinkie. “Pay  _close_  attention to my fingers, alright? Follow them _very_  closely.” She started to move them towards Pinkie’s head.

“Ooooh!” Pinkie squealed eagerly as she followed the digit, crossing her eyes as they came close. “Is this a game? Do I get a prize? Are you going to-?” She was cut off when Nix touched the middle of her forehead and  _pushed._

**BING!**

“-Woooooah...” Pinkie moaned as her head rolled back from the light application of force, allowing it to loll around on her neck as her eyes started rolling again. “Sooo many colors... Triiiiipyyyy...” She suddenly shook her head, producing a cowbell noise again before grinning. “That  _was_  fun!”

“Hey Pinkie!” Null flashed the sign again. “See anything now?”

“Hmm...” The pink mare narrowed her eyes as she read the sign. “It says ‘Gavrill is a big fat b-!’ Hey, that’s a  _bad_  word!”

“WHAT!?” Gavrill roared as she snapped herself away from the buffet.

“She said it, not us!” Nix and Null cackled.

“Doesn’t make it any less true, though.” Veronica snickered... before screaming when she was hit by a ballistic table. Gavrill started laughing... until her younger sister rammed into her and the pair started fighting again.

“Aren’t they going to ruin the party?” Trixie asked.

“Actually, that  _is_  how we usually party!” Chitter laughed. “That, and lots of explosions!”

“It’s not a party unless  _I_  have to clean everyone up at the end...” Fran rolled her eyes, smiling nonetheless.

“HEY!” Twilight cried. “Can we focus on what you just did to Pinkie Pie!?”

“Hey, yeah!” Pinkie agreed as she looked around, smiling widely as her eyes darted about. “How come everything’s so much sharper, and why are there so many more colors?”

“Hmm...” Nix rubbed her chin in thought for a moment before coming to a decision. “You know what? Just for kicks, we’ll just tell you it’s an improvement that people would kill to have naturally back in the day, and that it took a lot of trouble to get artificially, so she’s really lucky.”

“Other than that? Figure it out yourselves!” Null laughed.

“...you get a kick out of being unnecessarily obtuse, don’t you?” Twilight asked flatly.

“Like you wouldn’t  _believe.”_

“Yeah, yeah, that’s great.  _Anyways!”_  Gilda spoke up. “Can we wrap this up and start enjoying  _our_  damn party already? I mean, come on!” She gestured towards the bridges that lead to the plaza, where a number of crystal ponies and changelings were starting to enter. “People are showing up to have fun!”

“Alright, alright, keep you feathers on.” Scholar waved his hands hastily. “Look, I want to party just as much as you do, alright? We just need to tie up a few loose ends and then we can all relax after this long and tiring day, alright?”

The griffon grumbled darkly under her breath before sighing. “Just get it over with.”

“Great!” Scholar laced his fingers and cracked them out eagerly. “First things first: scraping Shining Armor off the pavement. And I know exactly who can do that.”

Without further ado, he stuck his index fingers in his mouth and...

**FWEEEET!**

Let out a massive, nigh eardrum shattering whistle.

**“CERBERUS!”**  He bellowed at the top of his lungs.  **“FETCH, BOY!”**

“And in five!” Nix proclaimed.

“Four!” Null added.

“Three...” Fran sighed.

“Two.” Veronica rolled her eyes.

“One!” Gavrill cackled eagerly.

Instantly, Scholar’s shadow turned pitch black and started moving, stretching out and lengthening into a massive pool of tangible darkness. Slowly, a massive,  _massive_  form composed of said darkness began to rise from the mass, towering high enough to almost match even Seath in size. Without warning, three pairs of bloody red eyes snapped open near the top of the mass, staring down at Scholar.

“Hey there, boy!” He waved eagerly.

**“WOOF!”**

_“That’s_ Cerberus!?” Twilight squeaked.

“When he’s operating at full capacity, at least.” The human smirked. “Pretty cool, huh?”

He expected many different answers. The sudden sound of a goat bleating was  _not_  one of them.

“The heck?”

“Er... It would appear that Trixie might have a slight phobia.” Iron Will supplied as he hesitantly poked at his downed and foaming comrade.

“Err... Cerberus?”

The hellhound’s eyes snapped around to glare at Cadance, causing her to flinch.

“L-look...” She rubbed her shoulder nervously. “I-I realize that I’m the  _last_  person to be asking a favor of you any time soon... or ever, for that matter... but... that  _is_  my fiance you have in your mouth, so if you could please...?”

The eyes glanced at one another before it shrugged. Cerberus’s heads opened their mouths, allowing what they were carrying to fall to the ground with numerous wet plops.

Everyone was silent as they stared at what the hound had brought.

Gilda blinked slowly. “Uh...”

“That ain’t somethin’ you see every day.” Rotfang noted.

“No, no it isn’t.” Lacewing concurred.

“What. The.  _HECK!?”_  Scholar exclaimed.


	23. Upping the Ante

Scholar, Seath and Chrysalis stared down at the results of Cerberus’s delivery.

“Remind me...” Scholar started slowly. “That order I sent out to Cerberus... I imbued it with Shining Armor’s image, did I not?”

“That you did, Scholar, that you did.” Seath nodded slowly in agreement.

“And, to be fair, he  _did_  complete the task you set out for him.” Chrysalis noted, nudging said white stallion’s prone form.

“Yeeeesss...” Scholar droned. “Yes he did. Now... second question...”

His eye twitched as he took in the two dozen  _other_  armored ponies that the obsidian hound had spit up.

“WHERE THE HELL DID HE PULL THE REST OF THEM FROM!?” He bellowed.

Cerberus snuffled and woofed, bringing up a mass of darkness that  _looked_  like a paw to scratch behind what  _could_  have been an ear.

Scholar’s eye twitched again as he slowly turned to look up at a  _very_  nervous Seath. “What does he mean ‘ _they were in the ice dome with him’!?”_  He ground out.

“Er...” The dragon hastily snapped up an array and started fidgeting with it. “Where was it... where was-! Ah...”

“‘Ah’? What ‘ _AH’?_ ” The human demanded.

“You’re... going to laugh...” Seath chuckled nervously.

“No, I’m not.”

“Right... anyways... upon reviewing the recorded data from the area where he and his platoon were when you cleared out the main body of the city... I’ve come across a... spike of foreign magic that lasted through the first few seconds of the windigoes’ assault?” The duke grinned nervously.

Scholar and Chrysalis gaped up at his compatriot for a second before slowly turning their heads to stare at the unconscious Captain.

“You mean to tell me...” Chrysalis breathed. “That that unicorn managed to erect a barrier and withstand the full wrath of those creatures long enough for a dome of ice to form around him and his soldiers, protecting them from the brunt of those demons’ wrath?!”

Seath nodded slowly in agreement. “Apparently. It would appear that we somewhat underestimated his capabilities.”

Scholar was silent in thought for a moment before slowly raising a hand.

“No, this does  _not_  count as ‘bonus points’ on our bet.” Chrysalis deadpanned without looking at him.

Scholar was silent as he slowly lowered his hand. Nevertheless, he narrowed his eyes at Shining Armor as he re-evaluated the variable before him.

“Scholar!” Twilight pressed herself against the wall of her cage, her gaze filled with worry. “What’s wrong with my brother!?”

“Hmm...” Fran knelt down next to the white unicorn, noting his shivering and the death-grip he had on the dragon-headed spear he was holding before speaking. “Considering how he and his men have apparently been in a cage of ice for at least ten minutes, I would have to diagnose him with an early case of hypothermia and some minor asphyxiation. They should be fine.”

“They ain’t gonna be once  _I_  get through with them!” Gavrill growled as she cracked her knuckles and took a menacing step towards the unconscious ponies. “I still owe him for his buddy’s flashbangs!”

**“PUT ONE MANGY CLAW ON MY HUSBAND AND I’LL CLEAN OUT YOUR INTESTINAL TRACT WITH THAT DEMENTED TENTACLE YOU CALL A TONGUE!”**

Everyone jumped in shock at the furious roar that erupted from Cadance, her cage half-buckling from the wave of magic that rammed into it.

Chrysalis’ eyes flashed emerald as she glared at the Alicorn princess, and Seath and Scholar snapped up a pair of large arrays.

Despite the fact that her body was shivering uncontrollably and that her container had all but doubled in size, Cadance continued to level an apoplectic glare at the carnivorous construct, a look that Gavrill was all too eager to return.

“Awwww, what’s wrong?” Gavrill chuckled grimly. “Does the traitorous fuckface not want me touching her pwecious little boy-toy? What, you actually  _attracted_  to him or somethin’,  _despite_  the fact that he’s gonna  _kick the fucking bucket?!”_

Cadance huffed venomously for a second before glancing to the side and looking back at Gavrill with a solemn nod. “I do.” She answered sincerely. “I love him, more than I’ve ever loved anyone before. I would do anything for him, and him for me.”

Gavrill rolled her eyes and gagged in exasperation. “Eurgh, puh-lease, you know how I hate that sappy shit. Save the mush for-GRK!” Gavrill cut herself off as her train of thought caught up to her. Slowly, eyes wide with fear, she turned her head in the same direction Cadance had glanced. Veronica, Nix, and Null slowly turned and followed her gaze with equal amounts of trepidation.

Fran was still in her position crouching over her patient, only now her body was visibly shaking with an emotion made unidentifiable by the curtain of hair that obscured her facial expressions.

The quartet of constructs began to sidle away from the medical aficionado, intent on putting as much distance between them and her as possible...

“She... loves... him...”

When she suddenly spoke, snapping her head around to pin her siblings in place with a single, irate look.

“Oh dear heaven and hell...” Veronica whimpered.

“She...  _loves_ him...” She bit out furiously. “And you tried to  _grievously injure him!?”_

“Fun fact: Fran’s a grade-A romantic, and a  _sucker_ for sob stories.” Rotfang chuckled to Iron Will.

“Iron Will would never have guessed.” The minotaur deadpanned.

“Gentlemen, it was an honor serving with you.” Null saluted solemnly.

“You’re lying through your teeth, aren’t you?” His twin asked seriously.

“Oh you have  _no_   idea.”

“You tried to grievously injure him  _and have me clean up the mess?!”_  Fran hissed venomously as she suddenly stood up and whipped around, glaring at her siblings with untold fury. “I believe that once again, I must...  _educate_  you in your mistakes.”

Gavrill fell into a ready stance as she bared her fangs and flexed her clawed fingers. “Looks like we’ve got no choice! Ready, fuckers?!”

Nix and Null pumped their fists. “Yeah!”

Veronica grit her teeth and slid a foot back as she squared her soldiers. “Yes.”

Silence reigned over the plaza as the music ground to a halt, party-goers and original onlookers alike holding their breath as tension started to ramp up.

Finally... they made their moves.

“EVERY FUCKER FOR THEMSELVES!” Gavrill screeched, literally spinning her torso around as she barreled towards one of the massive stairwells that were the exits to the plaza, shoving aside anyone in her path. Veronica bolted for another staircase, while Nix and Null moved for a third.

Sighing wearily, Fran drew a hand from her labcoat and held it before her face. “They never learn...” And with that, she simply snapped her fingers, unleashing a flurry of runes. Without further ado, all four promptly collapsed like they were made of jelly, mouths open in silent screams as they scratched and clawed at their skulls.

“Wh-what did you do to them?” Fluttershy squeaked.

“Oh, nothing, nothing...” Fran sighed as she idly spun a finger along the rim of one of her bolts. “I just activated the re-education implants I installed in them is all. I  _do_  so wish that I didn’t have to use them so often, but ah well...” She shrugged her middle arms. “Someone has to keep my siblings in line...”

“NghgahgRAAAAAGH!” Gavrill screeched, having finally recovered her voice. “FUUUUUUCK! DAMN IT ALL, FRAN, HOW THE FUCKING  _FUCK_  DO YOU KEEP FUCKING TATTOOING THIS FUCKING ARRAY INSIDE MY FUCKING  _SKULL!?”_

“Owowowow!” Veronica rolled around on the ground as she pulled her hat down on her head. “I’msorryI’msorryI’msorry, I’ve-learned-my-lesson-I-won’t-do-it-again  _makeitstooooop!”_

“HOW THE HELL DOES SHE GET THESE THINGS IN US!?” Nix screeched.

“WHO CARES!?” Null demanded. “JUST MAKE THE PAIN STOP!”

Iron Will raised an eyebrow at the display before casting a sidelong glance at Gilda. “Is it a bad sign that Iron Will is almost completely unfazed by this?”

The griffon snorted in response. “You’re a bit late on the uptake, buddy. But still... HEY BOSS!” She piped up. “Think they’ve had enough yet?”

“Nah, let’s give them a minute.” Scholar shrugged indifferently. “A little sibling rivalry never killed anyone... and even if it did, Fran’d be able to fix it.”

“It’s true, I could...” The mad doctor mused for a moment before sighing. “But still, I do suppose that enough is enough...” She snapped her fingers again, allowing her siblings to collapse to the ground with relief. “Now, have do you all understand what you did wrong, and do you all promise to not do it again?”

“Yes, Fran...” Three tired and out of breath voices moaned.

“Yeah, next time we kill both of ‘em before you find out about their fucking star-crossed whatever.” A fourth snarled.

SNAP!

“YEARGH! I MEAN FINE, FUCK, FUCK!”

“I’m so glad you understand.”

**“WOOF! WOOF! WOOF!”**  Cerberus let out a string of barks and woofs as he collapsed forwards, his tar-black, indiscernible body shaking with laughter as he repeatedly slammed his paw into the ground.

“Fuck you too, ‘dearest’ brother...” Gavrill snarled.

“Brother!?” The ponies chorused in disbelief.

“Yup!” Nix suddenly snapped up, her previous agony forgotten entirely. “See, Scholar made three series of sentient beings: Gavrill, Fran and Veronica were the third, made from organic matter, Null and I were the second, made from non-organic matter, and Cerberus was the first, forged from the primordial energies of the void from which all worlds are born!”

“To put things simply!” Null floated up and started to scratch the nose-ish area of the hound’s muzzle. “He’s out dearest eldest brother! Aren’t you boy, aren’t-?”

Suddenly, the muzzle split open and engulfed Null's hand, leaving him to stare at the slowly chewing mouth in shock.

He was silent for a moment before lowering his eyes to half-mast. “Spit it out before I figure out how to neuter you.”

The head made a snorting motion before spitting out a mangled collection of stone that might have once been a hand.

Null’s eye twitched as he picked the limb up. “Scho- _lar!”_  He whined as he waved the wreck miserably.

“Null, stop antagonizing Cerberus.” Scholar deadpanned without turning around.

Null’s eye twitched violently as he vibrated faster and faster.

“Er...” Nix raised a finger slowly. “Don’t you have like...  _twenty_  spares or-?”

“IT’S THE PRINCIPLE OF THE MATTER!”

“‘An Ah thought  _our_  siblings were a hoof-full...”

“I’m not quite sure what’s more abhorrent, this family’s fashion sense or the way they display their... ‘love’ for one another!”

“Er... excuse me... Cerberus?”

The dog-thing’s eyes blinked before rotating on its mass to face Fluttershy’s cage, the blackness splitting into three distinct head-like protuberances as they leaned over and examined the pink-maned pony within.

“Er...” Fluttershy smiled nervously at the beast. “D-do you remember me? I-I was the mare who played w-with you when you came to Ponyville! I-I realize that you looked a lot different then, b-but we had a lot of fun, right?”

Cerberus was silent for a moment... before slumping down onto its stomach, each of its pairs of eyes morphed into upside down Us and their maws split open to allow shadowy tongues to pant happily at the air.

Fluttershy perked up noticeably at the positive reaction. “Oh good, I was afraid you’d forgotten about me! I’m so happy!”

Meanwhile, Trixie moaned and whined as she slowly raised her hoof to her skull and shook her head as she leaned up. “Gah... oooh... what the heck happened to the Mighty and Infalliable-?”

“Cerberus?” Gavrill piped up as she inspected her her claws indifferently. “Sic her.”

In an instant, Cerberus was on its paws, his eyes narrowed in vicious slits as his jaws morphed into wide, tooth-filled maws.

**_“ROOOOAAAARRR!”_ **

“EEP!” Fluttershy squeaked as her mane was blown back by the force of the blood-thirsty howl.

Trixie’s body was stock still for a moment until her eyes slowly rolled up into her head and she slipped back into unconsciousness.

“Now then, fuckface... mind if I call you fuckface?” Gavrill leered as she strolled up to Fluttershy’s cage.

“Er, a-actually I would rather-!” Fluttershy stuttered, clutching her head as she kept watch of the ever-snarling heads mere feet from her.

“Fuckface it is!” Gavrill nodded as she leant against the cage, interposing herself between the pony and hound. “Now fuckface, let’s get one thing straight: this rabies-ridden sack of pus?” She jerked her head back at Cerberus. “He’s with us. And I mean,  _totally_  with us. Anything we tell him to do? He. Fucking. Does it. We tell him to fetch someone, he fetches them. Shred someone, he shreds ‘em. Heck, it was a goddamn  _miracle_  that your Bleach-Butt’s collars worked for as long as they did in my opinion. But at the end of the day? No matter how much of a fucking friend you think you are or how much you  _think_  you matter, one fact will  _always_  be a fucking fact.”

The Wolf jerked her thumb at herself. “He’s loyal to us, and  _only_  to us!”

**“BARK!”** Cerberus’s maws let out simultaneous woofs of agreement.

His middle head then leaned down and snapped down on Gavrill’s head and shoulders, nipping off her thumb in the process.

The plaza froze again as everyone stared at the scene in shock.

Gavrill herself was perfectly still. Slowly, she brought her hands up and felt the mouth that was holding her.

Then, both her arms lashed out to her sides, lengthening and inflating as they grasped Cerberus’s side-heads by their muzzles and ** _rammed_**  them into the skull that was holding her captive, forcing it to open its jaws and drop her.

Gavrill snarled furiously at the hound, her bitemarks stitching themselves shut in seconds. “You realize that that this means all-natural doggy kibble, right?”

Cerberus’s jaws twisted into malefic leers that promised nothing but pain.

Without warning, the sibling predators lunged at one-another...

**BAM!**

“GAH!”

**“WOOF!”**

And were halted by an explosion of light inches from their eyes.

“Alright, you two, that’s enough of that.” Scholar chuckled as he dismissed the runes he’d been holding up. “You can get right back to shredding one another  _after_  we’re done. But for now!” He clapped his hands together definitively. “We have some work to do! Seath, we’ve had enough death for one day. Slap these soldiers in a regen cell and lock ‘em up tight. We’ll deal with them at a later date. And put Shining Armor’s spear in a secure location; I want to take a look at it later.”

“Understood.” The dragon nodded as he waved his hands, causing the crystal beneath the comatose soldiers to light up in an arcane glow. The soldiers slowly sank through the light and out of sight.

Twilight cast a nervous glance at Cadance, but refrained from saying anything when she saw the reassuring, if weary smile her foalsitter was giving her.

“And what of those who have...  _records...”_  The word dripped from Seath’s tongue like an oil-soaked death sentence.

Scholar chuckled morbidly in response, wringing his hands eagerly. “Oh hoh, I assure you, a fate worse than  _death_  awaits  _them!”_

“You make  _one_  improvement without supervision  _one_  time and no one ever lets you hear the end of it...” Fran pouted, puffing her cheeks out petulantly.

Those older than a century winced and shuddered simultaneously as they fought to keep their bile down in response to the... _disturbing_  images that were associated with that particular memory.

“A-anyways...” Scholar gulped as he jerked his thumb over his shoulder at Cadance. “Her too. Max security. We pass judgement on her tomorrow for crimes against sapience.”

As expected, cries of protest rang out from the Equestrians.

What  _wasn’t_  expected were the numerous  _similar_  protests that erupted from varying members of the onlooking crowd. There was no coherence to the protests, every crystal pony saying something different. The important part was that it formed a solid wall of sound that said one thing.

No.

“... Uuuh... Iron Will... doesn’t...” Iron Will blinked numbly at the display, unable to conjure an appropriate response.

“Oh, allow me!” Gilda offered politely before sucking in a deep breath. “WHAT THE FUCK!?” She screeched.

Scholar groaned and slipped his fingers beneath his glasses as he kneaded the bridge of his nose. “Oh for the love of-!” He slipped his fingers down to his throat. “ALRI-!”

“Ahem, Scholar?”

The human ceased his proclamation upon Priscilla’s polite request. “What? What is it?”

The towering humanoid gestured at her draconic progenitor. “I believe that my father can handle his citizens well enough.”

Seath’s head was bowed, showing no sign of emotion as he listened to the complaints of those under his jurisdiction, his tentacles and tail tapping against the ground thoughtfully.

Finally, without forewarning, he whipped his limbs up and rammed them down with an earth-shattering  ** _CRASH!_** , reared his head back, and ** _ROARED!_**

**_“SIIIIIIILEEEEEEEENCE!”_ **

All noise in the plaza came to a screeching halt.  _Again._

“Hey, big, albino and ugly!” Vinyl called out from the stage, where Octavia was vigorously motioning at her roommate to, as they said in Detrot,  _shut the buck up._  “We’re trying to play here! Think you guys could pick up and move it somewhere else if you’re not going to party!?”

“My apologies, good performer,” Seath swept his arm and bowed his neck in apology. “We shall just be a moment more. Now then...” He drew himself upright and crossed his arms imperiously as he observed the assembled ponies.  **“Citizens of Vitrum!”** He rumbled, his voice echoing throughout the city.  **“We have heard your opinion upon the matter of the judgment of Mi Amore Cadenza, and I assure you, it** ** _shall_** **be taken into consideration. We will show her the leniency she is due for her actions...”**  

He slowly turned his head to glare down at the Alicorn, despite his lack of eyes.

“But no more.” He finished quietly.

Cadance flinched, but merely nodded in acknowledgment.

With that, Seath waved his hand, prompting an arch of crystal to rise up before Cadance in her cage. The innards of the arch were immediately illuminated with a flash of magic and runes.

Cadance sighed heavily as she stared into the light before taking a tentative step forwards.

“Cadance!”

She flinched and halted, glancing at Twilight through the runes of her cage.

Twilight stared at her foalsitter, her mouth open but no words emerging. She tried to find something to say,  _anything,_  but... no matter how many books and how much of her acquired knowledge she poured over, but there was just... nothing.

Cadance bit her lip for a second... before smiling. A single, simple, sorrowful smile.

“Goodbye, Twilight.”

And with that, she stepped through, the light died, and she was gone.

The purple unicorn worked her jaw helplessly for a second before snapping an absolutely caustic glare at Scholar.

“Do your worst.” Scholar droned as he inspected his fingernails. “It’s nothing I haven’t seen before.”

Twilight grit her teeth furiously before lowering her gaze. “So... what are you going to do to us now?” She asked in a dead manner.

“You?” Scholar glanced at her out of the corner of his glasses. “Simple.”

He snapped his fingers, prompting the ponies and dragon to flinch...

As their cages dissolved around them.

“Now, you go forth and party.”

The Elements plus one blinked in shock.

“Er... begging your pardon?” Rarity asked dumbly.

“You heard the man!” Chrysalis rolled her eyes, grinning impishly. “It’s a party, so go ahead and party! After all, it’s not like you can do any real damage, especially with everyone around, and you can’t leave the city either, so there’s no real reason for us to hold you anymore! So go ahead!” She waved an armored hoof airily. “Enjoy yourselves! Have fun!”

She raised her head and addressed the crowd. “My colleagues and I have some business to attend to before we can properly enjoy ourselves! We shall join you all shortly! Until then, have fun!” She looked up at Seath. “If you would?”

Seath rumbled in agreement, bringing up an Array with a wave of his hand and causing light to appear under Scholar, his creations, Chrysalis and her inner circle, Priscilla, the trio of Academics and himself.

Light erupted from below them and they were gone.

Applejack stared at the empty space for a moment before turning to her friends. “So... whadda we do n... where’s Pinkie?”

Suddenly, the sound of a needle scratching rang out as the music and lights became active in the plaza once anew.

**“LET’S PARTY!”** Pinkie cried out enthusiastically as she slung her hoof over Vinyl’s shoulder.

Twilight sighed and rolled her eyes in exasperation. “I can’t believe it... or rather, I believe it all too easily. Anyways, Spike, do me a favor and stay c- Spike? Spike!?”

“Mmm!” The dragon moaned from the buffet table where he was gorging herself. “I dunno what that chaos stuff did to Pinky, but she _definitely_  baked some good crystal cupcakes!”

“Ergh, fine... Rarity, would you-?”

“Excuse me, darling!” Rarity’s eyes glimmered as she sidled up next to a dancing Crystal Pony who had an amethyst belt around her waist. “I’m terribly sorry for intruding, but I couldn’t help but notice that admirable accessory you’re sporting! Would you mind telling me where you procured it?”

“I... I... I’m afraid to even look, but... Applejack?”

“AN’ TEN! YEEHAW!” Applejack hollered as she released the hoof of the struggling changeling she’d been holding down. “An’ that makes two in a row! Anyone else think they can take on an Apple? ‘Cause Ah’m warnin’ ya, I don’t know what mah family’s reputation was back in ya’lls time, but in  _this_  day an’ age, we’re known fer havin’ bark fer skin and sap in our veins! So come on! Who’s next?”

“... Rainbow Dash? Fluttershy?”

“THISH ISH THE BESHT SCHIDER AH’VE HAD IN... IN... IN THE LASHT TIME I’VE HAD SCHIDER!” Rainbow Dash crowed from the table where she was balancing on her rear hooves, mugs clutched in her forehooves and hanging off the ends of her wings. “WOOHOO! THISH ISH THE BESHT PARTY EVER!”

Fluttershy glanced around the corner of the buffet table she was hiding behind before smiling at the mug she was clutching. “This  _is_  really good cider.” She whispered to herself before draining it in one go.

“... ahhh  _fuck it!_  Spike! Pass me a mug!”

**-o-**

The second the light from the transportation array died down, Scholar pinned Nix and Null with a frigid glare. “Where is it?”

Nix and Null were equally somber as they returned the look. “I’ve got it,” The green golem answered, her hands lighting up with green energy as she started to trace her fingers through the air before her. The energy trailed behind her digits, warping and melding the space it touched. “I have it locked up in a pocket. Give me a second, I- .”

“How bad is it?” Seath growled darkly.

“Bad.” Null growled, cracking his knuckles agitatedly. “‘Total wipe and use a back-up’ bad.”

“He’s not fucking around there...” Gavrill snarled murderously. “This... we’re in deep shit here...  _real_  deep shit here.”

Veronica nodded her head definitively in agreement.

“Oh my...” Fran moaned, wringing two sets of hands, cranking a bolt with one of her free ones and biting the thumb of the other.

“Damn it, one thing after another...” Chrysalis moaned as she ground her hoof into her forehead, the other changelings, even Chitter showing equal signs of agitation.

Gilda glanced back and forth between the Oligarchs in confusion. “Alright, either I took a blow to the head I didn’t notice, or you guys are talking about something that’s  _way_  over my head. Care to let us in on the loop?”

“Agreed.” Iron Will nodded flatly.

Trixie let out a gargled moan.

“Cerberus.” Scholar ordered firmly.

**“WOOF!”**  The canine mass of darkness drifted or padded or  _somehow_  made its way towards the blue mare, knelt over her...

SLURP!

“GAH!”

 And proceeded to literally lick her from head to toe.

“Gugh! Ack! Phbt!” Trixie sputtered as she wiped her hooves over her face in an effort to dislodge the pungent slime that had coated her body. “This is positively  _revolting!_  Who on Mundus-!” She promptly froze when she felt a breath of hot air wash over her.

Slowly, she tilted her head up and stared at the canine that was towering above her. Trixie grinned nervously as she fought to keep from fainting again. “G-g- _good_  Cerberus... N-no hard f-feelings about Tartarus... r-right? Heh... heheh... heeeh...”

Cerberus let out a low rumbling growl... before panting happily and lapping at her vigorously.

Trixie froze as the slobber dripped off her form, her eye twitching sporadically. “Trixie... has conflicted feelings about this... She also might require a new...  _everything_ from the hips down.”

“Ahem!” Scholar coughed heavily into his fist, leveling a flat glare at the Magisters. “Are you all done fooling around yet, or is there more to your routine?”

Gilda’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Yeesh, what got stuck in your robes?”

“Gilda, Trixie, Iron Will, answer me honestly...” Null brought his hands together and closed his eyes for a moment before looking at them flatly. “How stupid do you think I am?”

“Er...”

“Ah...”

“We don’t...”

“ _Now.”_

“You’re a spastic dumbass.”

“You and your sister follow every whim you can if it means you get a hoot out of it.”

“The two of you are absolutely deranged.”

“All true.” Null nodded in agreement. “Now... do those still apply in a fight?”

The griffon, minotaur and unicorn glanced at one another before shaking their heads.

“No.” Iron Will grunted. “When it comes to combat, you’re pragmatic, clinical, efficient...”

“That pocketwatch didn’t actually possess you, did it?” Gilda stated more than asked. “You wouldn’t have made as stupid a mistake as grabbing it by accident, not if you were in the middle of a fight.”

“So what could have been the purpose of that charade?” Trixie bit her lip in thought. “A signal? A message?”

“A warning.” Nix stated darkly, jerking her hand a final time and coalescing her energies into a solid green disc before her. “That one of Null’s artifacts is acting up, becoming an immediate threat. It’s covert, so that no one who doesn’t know about it knows what’s going on. It’s to be used for emergencies only. And  _this!”_  She jerked her hand, causing the disc to split open into four separate pieces. She then drew her hands backwards, prompting a glowing orb of runes containing an object to drift through the opening and into view.

“This goes far beyond the word ‘emergency.”

The Oligarchs and Duke recoiled in horror as they stared at the object, while the Magisters choked in visceral, instinctual disgust.

“Oh no...” Scholar breathed, his knuckles turning white as he redoubled his grip on his book.

“This can’t be happening.” Chrysalis shook her head in denial.

“Not kosher!” Chitter squeaked.

“What...” Gilda gagged as she tried to keep her bile down. “What in all the nine circles of hell  _is_  that thing!?”

Bound within the runes and energy was a... it could be  _loosely_  defined as a book. Very, very loosely. If books struggled. And pulsed. And bled. And felt totally, utterly  _wrong_  on a basic, animal level.

“Is that thing’s cover made of  _skin!?”_  Iron Will asked weakly.

“Does that thing have a  _face!?”_  Trixie whimpered.

“Better question than all of them combined!” Scholar spoke up, hastily regaining his wits and replacing his trepidation with anger. “Why. Is it. ** _Alive!?”_** The room shook with the amount of magic packed into his voice.

Nix and Null barely reacted as they glanced at one another before addressing their creator solemnly.

“You  _know_  why, Scholar.” Nix whispered.

“Scholar...” Null shook his head and clutched at his globular head wearily. “It... it made me praise  _Cthulhu._  And he wasn’t even one of them. There’s only one reason why it’d be reacting like this. I know it, Nix knows  it... and you know it.”

“Well we don’t!” Gilda squawked. “In case you’ve forgotten,  _we’re out of the loop here!_  Could someone tell us what  _that_  is!” She jabbed a talon at the struggling tome. “And why in the name of Hades, Pluto, and every other dark and deadly god in existence is it  _screaming!?”_

“That...” Priscilla fingered her scythe uneasily. “Is the Necronomicon.”

“Or at least...” Seath rumbled. “It is our world’s variation of it. It is an Eldritch tool, and one of the few constants of the multiverse. In every world where there is life, the Necronomicon will find a way to worm itself into existence. From there... it serves as a gateway for its progenitors, opening doorways into unwitting minds, and allowing the creatures who spawned it to manipulate and interact with mortals at will.”

“Before today, this thing was inactive.” Null glared at the book. “Dead as a doornail with enough left over energies for a good laugh. Now... now it’s back at full, mind-rending power, plus change. And there’s only one reason it’d come back to life.”

“The Eldritch Court is returning.”

“GAH!”

“SONNUVA!”

The Magisters jumped when the until-now silent bandaged woman who had been shadowing Fran spoke up, reminding everyone of her presence.

“The Eldritch Court is returning from its exile.” She whispered in a raspy voice.

Two of Cerberus’s heads let out vicious growls as they bore their fangs. The third whimpered pitifully and bowed low.

Scholar nodded slowly in agreement. “Adorea is right. The only way that the Necronomicon could regain its powers... would be if its masters were becoming active once anew. I am afraid... that the Eldritch Court is indeed returning to Mundus.”

“Iron Will is going to go out on a limb and say that’s a bad thing,” the minotaur said.

“Apoplectic.” Adorea whispered in reply.

Scholar let out a morbid chuckle as he leaned against a wall, pressing his palm against his forehead. “To comprehend the sheer scale of what we’re dealing with here, you must first understand what we define as ‘Eldritch’. And to be honest... no one can. That’s...” His chuckle took on a slightly manic tone. “That’s how we define them: the undefinable. These are...  _things!_  Not even monsters, monsters can be killed,  _have_ been killed! Things! Things that... that... that  _warp_  everything around them. Merely by  _existing.”_

“We feared them.” Chrysalis stated factually, her voice devoid of all emotion. “Every one of us to the last. What other reaction is there to something like that? To something whose sole discernible emotions are anger and hatred?”

“The last time we fought them...” Scholar shut his eyes and shook his head slowly. “When we expelled them from Mundus. It... it was the founding of Concordia. I mean, we- the rest of the Oligarchs and I- had been forming Concordia for years before that. Struggling to pull everything together. We were close. But that... that  _war..._  it was the keystone of our empire. Because when you go into a fight like that...” He slowly turned his head to stare sadly at his subordinates. “You either leave it together... or you don’t leave it. At all.”

Trixie, taking in that information, swayed on her hooves, barely staying upright. Beside her, Iron Will had fallen back on his haunches, while Gilda had simply frozen in an expression of stunned horror.

“I-it took all of the Oligarchs…?” Trixie breathed.

Seath bowed his head, almost leveling his head with his waist. “More than all of them. I might not have participated at the time, but I certainly observed and read the reports. It took  _armies_  to expunge them from our realm. The odds were... insurmountable. The victory we won, and the life we live today... a miracle. Each and every second of it.”

“That conflict... it was  _years_  in the making.” Scholar started flipping through his book. “I... me and so many other intellectuals and strategists, we spent close to a decade writing out the strategy, plotting out every instance we could foresee. It doesn’t matter how many times parts of it failed or blew up, without that time to prepare...”

Chrysalis slowly shook her head. “I don’t even want to  _consider_  what would have happened in that madness.”

Gilda finally unclenched her beak and started to speak. “And... they’re coming back.”

Veronica tilted her fedora down over her eyes. “It’s the only explanation for the Necronomicon.”

“No hope of negotiating...  _anything?”_

Chitter swallowed heavily. “Only ones who’d communicate either left peacefully or are still here, somewhere, left alone. The Court is nothing but bad juju.”

Iron Will slowly brought his hand up to his muzzle and rubbed it heavily. “How... long do we have?”

“Judging by the book?” Priscilla glared at the howling tome. “Distinctly  _less_  than a decade.”

Silence reigned for a moment.

“So...” Trixie started slowly. “We’re fucked?”

Scholar thought for a moment before speaking. “No. No, we aren’t. This time, we’re fighting a defensive battle, plus they’ve spent a long time locked between worlds. Very little comes out of that looking pretty. I think that if we meet them with everything we have, then we stand a decent chance.”

Gilda and Iron Will let out sighs of relief. Trixie’s pupils dilated in horror.

“Everything?” She squeaked.

Iron Will and Gilda looked at her in confusion before paling in realization.

“Everything.” Scholar confirmed grimly. “And everyone. Or at least something equivalent.”

Gilda worked her beak for a second before sputtering. “I- that’s- why the hell haven’t they attacked before!? Equestria could never match them in any number of millenia!”

“They wouldn’t have to.” Seath huffed. “As insurmountable as the Court might be, credit to the alicorns, harmony is a hell of a thing. They couldn’t have come near Mundus if they tried. But now... now the harmony has been disrupted by magic. The world is shattered. It must be reforged to withstand the coming storm... one way or another.”

“...What are you saying?” Iron Will asked slowly.

“He’s saying that we’re over a barrel.” Gavrill growled, pacing agitatedly like a caged animal. “We can’t negotiate with Celestia and Luna because they have all the cards. They don’t  _need_  to ally with us. They know that harmony can protect the world, and so do we. If we want this world to survive, we have two options: we win this war, fast, free everyone and get ready for the fight of our lives... or we surrender to Equestria, full-stop. Harmony coats the world, protecting it from harm.”

She suddenly lashed out with her fist, burying it wrist-deep in the crystalline wall.

_"Forever.”_

The room fell silent as everyone processed the ultimatum before them, Nix taking the opportunity to shove the Necronomicon back in the hole in reality she’d pulled it from before it could rile anyone up further.

Finally, Null broke the silence. “Well... come on!” He spread his hands wide. “W-we can do this! I mean, you said it yourself, they’re not strong enough to face the Court, surely  _we_  can take them! Just, come on!” He gestured at the Magisters. “How strong are they? Really?”

The trio looked at one another slowly before Iron Will groaned and hauled himself to his feet. “Iron Will will explain.” He cleared his throat and crossed his arms. “As it stands, the current pony population across the globe, counting provinces of Equestria and entirely separate nations, is approximately two billion individuals.”

_“Two billion!?”_  Veronica choked.

“What happened to the hardy eighty million of old!?” Rotfang demanded.

“Two thousand years of population growth is what happened,” Iron Will replied.

“Plus earth ponies are  _really_  good at sowing their seed.” Gilda quipped.

“ _Moving on_ ,” Iron Will growled, glaring at the interruption. “From what demographic records survived, population growth before Princess Luna’s corruption into Nightmare Moon was close to two percent every year.”

All three Oligarchs, as well as Fran, froze in stunned amazement.

Chitter’s scrunched an eye shut and stuck his tongue out the side of his mouth for a moment before freezing in horror. “Wuh-oh.”

“Ha! Only two percent? That’s, like, nothing!” Null laughed.

Scholar and Nix’s reactions were to simply slap their hands to their faces.

“Cousin...” Priscilla stated in exasperation. “You have a calculator in your head. I’d suggest you take the time to  _use it!”_

Null paused as if in deep thought, before a look of dawning horror spread over his face.

“Iron Will sees you grasp the implications. The Equestrian population was doubling  _every thirty-five years._  The one silver lining is that after Luna’s fall from grace, the pony population’s growth came to a screeching halt, presumably because there simply wasn’t any more space without driving out another race or going where they  _really_  didn’t want to go.”

“You mean the Realms?” Seath asked.

“Indeed.” Trixie nodded. “They have all been sealed, and we have had little luck breaching them. But that is neither here nor there.”

“Indeed.” Iron Will nodded. “That is merely their population. What matters here is their military. As it stands, including all nations, Equestrian and otherwise, an average of one percent of the global population takes up a military career of some form or another. Of that percentage, about one half of them are merely glory-seekers who wish to join the guard for the image it projects. The rest are from military families or are truly determined. And of that number, only about half of  _them_  have the necessary experience and skill to be a tangible threat to a well-trained member of the Academia.  _These_  are the ponies who count as actual soldiers.”

It wasn’t merely silent in the room. It was...  _noiseless._  Not a single sound. All anyone could or would dare to do was stare at the minotaur in sheer, unrestrained horror.

“To elaborate...” Iron Will rumbled darkly. “The Alicorns have almost five  _million_  soldiers who are more than capable of fighting us. In addition to  _fifteen_  million other loyal soldiers who, while distinctly weaker, must be factored in. In all? A military of twenty million. Give or take a few hundred thousand.”

Veronica was the first to find her voice. “That’s not a military,” she squeaked.

“THAT’S A MEDIUM-SIZED FUCKING COUNTRY!” Gavrill roared.

“W-what about us?” Fran stammered. “How many do we have on our side!?”

“Counting the disciples and students of the Academia, as well as the descendants of non-Academia individuals, factoring in the changelings and citizens of Vitrum that were liberated...” Gilda counted on her talons before sighing. “Close to six hundred thousand... rounding up.”

Null scratched the side of his head nervously for a second before slowly raising a finger. “The... Spartan Three Hundred faced worse odds?”

Nix shot an acrid glare at her twin. “The Three Hundred were eventually slaughtered like dogs.”

Null flinched but remained silent.

Trixie placed her head between her hooves and shook it slowly. “What do we do?” She asked quietly.

Scholar perked up at the question. “Now? Right now? At this instance? That’s the easy question.” He clapped his hands together definitively. “Absolutely jack shit.”

The Magisters stared at him in shock.

“Ex- _cuse_  Trixie!?” The unicorn sputtered.

“Well, come on!” Scholar spread his arms helplessly. “What did you expect we were going to do? Jump straight into it?  _Hell_  no!” He snorted derisively. “I don’t know if you noticed, but we kind of just liberated an entire city.  _The_  city! We have given ourselves a foothold, a starting point! The war hasn’t started in earnest yet, no, but we have just scored ourselves an unequivocal, resounding  _victory!_  This is _far_  from the time to be moody and depressed, to worry about the future! This is the time to  _celebrate!_  So go on!”

He marched over to the door to the room and flung it wide, gesturing towards the hallway. “Go, all of you! Leave, celebrate! We have the information we need, it’s as simple as that! We’ll deal with everything at a later date, when we’ve had a chance to unwind and relax! But for now, we revel in our victory, and we dream of all the better tomorrows to come. So go ahead, all of you! Have fun! And if you need someone to worry, leave that to me. Alright? Actually, on second thought, forget that. It’s an order, a direct one. All of you out, gogogo!”

The assembled soldiers and leaders looked at one another bemusedly before Rotfang finally stepped forwards.

“I have decided!” He declared. “To get larva- _fucking_  drunk! Who the hell is with me!”

“Aye-aye, brother!” Lacewing crowed.

“Me three, me three!”  Chitter whooped.

“The hive has spoken.” Chrysalis chuckled.

“Hey, kibble-breath!” Gavrill growled through her massive grin. “You, me, and a few thousand fans screaming for us to shred each other in the Colosseum. You in?”

**“WOOF!”**  Cerberus barked eagerly.

“To the nearest source of booze!” Gilda proclaimed.

“The Magnificent and Majestic TRIXIE longs to entertain the masses once more!” The unicorn swept her cape back dramatically.

“And Iron Will will need to keep the two of you out of jail.” Iron Will groaned good-naturedly.

“Shall we, daughter?” Seath gestured.

“After you, father.” The demi-humanoid curtsied politely.

“HI HO, LET’S GO!” The Golem Twins whooped ecstatically.

And with that, the assorted individuals began to make their way out of the room, splitting off into their own directions to reach their own destinations.

Scholar left the door and wandered back into the room itself, deep in thought as he flicked through his Lexicon and muttered to himself.

The sound of the door clicking shut prompted him to glance over his shoulder at the exit... and then to snap his head around entirely when he saw who was in front of it.

“Fran?” He asked in confusion. “Why are you still here? Shouldn’t you be getting back to your manor to direct triage or-?”

“What is it?” The artificial woman asked firmly.

Scholar’s eye twitched minutely as he smiled a wide, honest smile. “Wrong? Nothing’s wrong. I mean, come on, have you seen me today? I’m in-!”

**BA-BUMP!**

He hissed in a minute breath through his slightly strained grin. “Peak condition, physically and magically speaking!”

Fran’s flat glare and trio of crossed arms spoke volumes of how unimpressed she was with his performance. “Scholar, I will kindly ask you to respect me as an equal in the field of general intellect, and as your superior in medical knowledge. I can read your micro-expressions like a roadmap, and for a second, just like before, you were in intense pain,  _this_  time without performing a feat of magic. What. Is. Wrong.”

Scholar’s right hand clenched unconsciously, but he hastily moved it behind his back as his smile became all too strained. “Fran, please. I swear to you, I’m fine. It’s really none of your business, just-”

“FATHER!” Fran barked fiercely, causing Scholar to flinch back as she marched up to him in a storm of indignant fury. “I am the Surgeon General of Concordia! I am in charge of all health-related matters within this city, and the wellbeing of every living creature within these borders is  _exactly_  my business! You  _will_  tell me what’s wrong with you, or so help me I will tranquilize you, haul you back to my manor and _vivisect_  you to find the problem!”

She huffed furiously for a second before allowing the tension to flow out of her face, replacing her frustration with intense concern. “Father... ” She begged, bringing one hand up to his shoulder, and another to his face. “Please...”

Scholar let himself relax at her touch for a moment before sighing heavily and stepping back, raising his hands to brush her off. “Fran... I’m sorry... but... I just can’t alright. You wouldn’t even begin to understand in the first place.”

Fran grit her teeth in frustration made to respond... then suddenly let her expression go slack as she focused on his right hand.

“Does it have anything with the dilapidated array on your body that looks like it’s about to disintegrate?” She squeaked.

Scholar’s eyes shot wide in panic as he whipped his hand around, staring in horror at the cracked, chipped and worn lines of white energy that had appeared on his skin, running into and from an inhumanely intricate design in the center of his palm.

He unconsciously snapped his book open with his free hand, intent on doing something,  _anything..._

And could do naught but watched as the light in the array died, the runes and designs fading to a stony gray before crumbling, falling off his hand and down his arm, the devastation disappearing into his sleeves.

Scholar’s breathing hitched momentarily. “Oh.  _Shi-!”_

**eeeeeEEEEE** **_EEEEE-WHI-CRACK!_ **

Pain. That... that was the only word. The only single word physically  _capable_ of even beginning to grasp Scholar’s world in that instance. No light. No dark. No sight, sound, touch, taste or smell. No memory. No past, present or future. No war. No peace. Just pain. Enough pain to overwrite any thought or memory. Enough pain to define his world in its entirety.

When he finally, regained some modicum of thought, his vision was filled with Fran’s terrified face, lightly shaking his shoulders and saying something. But whatever it was, he didn’t hear it and he didn’t have the time to read her lips. Instead, he grasped her shoulder and spoke.

“D-doctor...” He slurred. “D-doctor-p-patient conf-fidentiality...”

Fran blinked in confusion, her lips asking some form of question. He was able to make out a protest of some form.

In an instant, Scholar’s mind was flooded with enough magic to banish any and all pain from his body. Quick as a whip, he snapped his hand out, grabbed Fran by the collar of her labcoat and jerked her forwards so that they were face to face.  **“DOCTOR-PATIENT CONFIDENTIALITY!”**  He roared.

Fran gaped at him in abject terror, barely breathing as she stared at him. Scholar had to fight to keep himself from apologizing when he noticed the moisture in the corner of his eyes. He wanted to,  _god_  knows he did... but the gravity of the situation meant he couldn’t afford it. She needed to understand how critical the crisis was. It killed him, stabbed at his core... but he  _couldn’t_  let anyone else know. Fran was bad enough. No one else. No one...

**_Vworrrp... Vworrrrp..._ **

He stood corrected.  _Almost_  no one.

Scholar hauled himself and Fran to their feet, whipping around to face the tall blue box that was slowly materializing in the room. “I will explain...” He hissed under his breath. “Later. But for now... business as usual.”

Fran’s hands clenched into fists, but she hardened her expression and nodded slowly. “Business as usual.” She parroted in a dead tone.

Finally, the box materialized in full, and the door swung open with an ancient,  _ancient_  creak.

From between the doors trotted a stallion. He was a simple, average stallion in most all respects. Light brown fur, messy dark brown mane and tail, wide blue eyes... in fact, the only outstanding aspect of him was his Cutie Mark.

A golden hourglass, with sand flowing from the top half down to the bottom.

Scholar and the stallion stared at one another impassively for what seemed to be an eternity. Neither moved, neither breathed, neither spoke. They just... looked at one another. Both seemingly in their primes, and yet... at their cores,  _unspeakably_  ancient. Titans come face to face.

Finally, Scholar’s composure broke, a light smile playing across his lips. “It’s been far too long, Doctor.”

The stallion grinned in turn. “Too long indeed, Scholar. Far, far too long.”

And with that, the tension broke. Both laughed enthusiastically as they lunged forwards, Scholar kneeling down to accept the Doctor’s hug. “Ah, come on, you old fart! It must have passed by in the blink of an eye for someone like you!”

“Pshaw!” The Doctor threw his head back and snorted dismissively. “Now why would I do something like that? Skipping about all willy nilly? That’s just downright improper! Naw, I felt it best to take the scenic route!”

“A scenic route that took you straight through a certain princess’s wedding, eh?” Scholar released the Doctor and stood up, shooting a cheeky grin at the time traveler.

“Ah, you noticed me?” The Doctor chuckled.

“Who  _else_  would have responded to Null’s banana joke?” Scholar rolled his eyes. He then frowned and crossed his arms as he looked down at the Doctor. “So...”

The Doctor’s expression fell and he looked down and away. “I... I did try. But sometimes...” He sighed heavily and ran a hoof through his mane. “Neither omniscient nor omnipotent, simply the best. The words you used to describe us, Oligarchs and equals alike. But... I suppose that my best just wasn’t enough. Believe me, it hasn’t been more times than I care to count.”

Scholar was solemn as he observed his age-old friend. “You have a debt to pay, Doctor. And it must be paid in full.”

The Doctor sighed heavily and nodded. “Very well then...”

The human grinned cheekily. “A quarter of a million standard credits.”

“WHAT!?” The Doctor squawked indignantly. “Th- b-  _that’s highway robbery!”_  He shook his hoof at the human indignantly. “I owed you _ten_  credits, at most!”

“Two thousand years of interest is a  _bi-atch!”_  Scholar crowed.

“That’s twelve-thousand and fifty percent interest per year!”

“Phbt!” Scholar blew a raspberry at the Time Lord.

“I- you-! Gagh!” The Doctor threw his hooves up in disbelief. “You are  _just_  as insufferable as you were all those years ago! Simply... unbelievable!”

“Heheheh...” Scholar chuckled before gazing curiously at the blue box. “Anyways... you have someone in there, right? Because I’ll find someone for you if you don’t, and it  _will_  be someone I made from the ground up.”

“Oh, no no no!” The Doctor shook his head vigorously as he turned around and stepped up to the box’s doors. “I’ve got companions, I swear! Four, in fact! One moment, I’ll go and get them. I told them to remain inside until I, ah...”

“Ensured I hadn’t become the kind person who would blast them without remorse?” Scholar asked, a glimmer of humor in his glasses.

“Hmmm...” The Doctor tapped his chin before grinning and nodding. “Yes, that’s about right.” And with that, he pushed the door open. “It’s alright you lot! Come on out, meet a good friend of mine!”

Out of the box came four female ponies. They consisted of a light gray pegasus with a blonde mane , misaligned eyes and a bubble Cutie Mark, a light purple unicorn filly with a blonde mane, a light pink juvenile unicorn with a purple mane and three diamonds for a Cutie Mark, and a yellow earth pony with a curly orange mane and a bushel of carrots for a Cutie Mark.

“Wooow...” The pegasus breathed as she took in the crystalline composure of the room. “This is a really nifty place, Doctor!”

“Yeah! It’s really pretty!” The filly piped up, eagerly looking about. She suddenly focused on Fran and smiled eagerly. “Oh! And she’s _really_  pretty!”

The filly made to gallop towards Fran, but was stopped when she was picked up by an amethyst aura. “How about we  _not_  do that, alright Lil ’sis?” The slightly older unicorn suggested nervously.

“Awww, Big ‘sis!”

Meanwhile, the earth pony was shaking violently as she stared at Scholar in horror. “D-D-Doctor!” She half stammered, half squawked. “T- _this_  is the ‘friend’ you wanted us to meet!? Are you cra-!” She facehoofed and tried again. “Are you trying to get us all killed!?”

“Bah, there there, Carrot Top!” The Doctor reassured her as he patted her on the back. “I assure you, Scholar is a dear friend of mine, and he’d  _never_  hurt any of you!” The last part was accompanied by a swift, literally momentary murderous glare at the human in question before the smile returned. “But anyways! Scholar, allow me to introduce you to Derpy ‘Ditzy’ Hooves,”

“Hello!” The wall-eyed pegasus waved happily.

“Dinky,”

“Hi!” The filly waved with equal energy.

“Sparkler,”

“Er... hey...” The teenager waved half-heartedly.

“And Carrot Top!”

The earth pony chose to swallow heavily.

Scholar smiled and waved in turn. “Greetings to you all! I’m Scholar, and this is my daughter Fran Madaraki!” He gestured at the medical professional, who smiled and bowed politely.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you all.” Fran smiled pleasantly before addressing Derpy. “Ah, Miss Hooves, about your eyes...”

“It’s fine, I’m used to it by now,” The pegasus waved her hoof indifferently, her smile never leaving her face.

“Ah, it’s not that. I’m a doctor, a medical one you see, and-!”

“Fran...” The Doctor spoke up warningly.

Fran puffed out her cheeks in response. “I’d be supervised! Honestly,  _one_  time...”

“There’s no need, Miss Madaraki, really!” Derpy shook her head. “I’m happy with my eyes, thank you very much, but thanks for offering.”

“Ah well...”

Scholar chuckled at the interaction before noticing a slight tugging sensation on his robes.

“Um, excuse me? Mister Scholar?”

Looking down, he caught sight of Dinky trying to get his attention.

“Dinky!” Sparkler yelped upon noticing she’d let the filly go. “Don’t-!”

“It’s fine, it’s fine!” Scholar smiled kindly as he knelt down and ruffled the filly’s hair. “Is there something you wanted to say to me, Dinky?”

The little unicorn chuckled at the nice feeling then nodded. “Yeah, I do! I’ve got a question for you!”

“Well go ahead and ask it!”

“Well...” Dinky frowned and tilted her head to the side. “Are you going to destroy the world?”

The room froze as all attention snapped to the filly and mage.

Scholar frowned and crossed his arms. “What makes you ask that?”

“The stuff that big version of you said.” Dinky replied honestly. “I didn’t know what a lot of it meant, but some ponies were saying before we left that you were gonna end the world and stuff. Carrot Top was really scared of you.”

“Was she now?” Scholar mused as he shot an amused look at the named pony.

A slight gurgling sound came out of the earth pony’s throat as a result.

“And, well... you can’t  _really_  destroy the world, you know!”

“Oh?” Scholar raised his eyebrow at the filly. “And why is that?”

“‘Cause the Doctor would stop you, duh!” Dinky smiled as she stated the simple, truthful fact. “He’s done it lotsa times before, and he’ll always be there to do it again!”

The air became tense in the silence that followed the statement... until Scholar laughed and ruffled Dinky’s mane again.

“You’re right!” He concurred. “The Doctor  _has_  saved the world lots and lots and  _lots_  of times in the past! And he’s going to do it lots and lots and lots of times in the future too! But luckily, I don’t  _want_  to destroy the world!”

“You don’t?” The ponies asked. Well, Dinky and Derpy asked happily, Sparkler stuttered and Carrot Top squawked in disbelief.

“Nope!” Scholar shook his head definitively. “I just... want to change it, that’s all. The world will be different as a result, but I promise you, it  _won’t_  be destroyed!”

Dinkie put on a pair of massive puppydog eyes and pouted as cutely as she could. Which was to say, very much so. “Pinkie Promise?”

Scholar chuckled and went through the motions. “Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.”

“Yay!” The filly bounced happily.

“Now then!” Scholar stood to his full height and stuck his finger high into the air. “This city is in the midst of the grandest Pinkie Party of all time! How about you all go and enjoy it? Me and the Doctor have some unfinished business to discuss, alright?”

“Oh, can we mommy? Can we? Can we?” Dinky squealed eagerly.

“Of course we can, my little muffin!” Derpy smiled happily as she scooped her daughter up in a hug.

Sparkler tried to find something to say for a moment before sighing and shrugging. “Bah, what the heck. Sounds like fun!”

Carrot Top looked at the other ponies like they were all mad before sighing and hanging her head. “Why me...”

“Fantastic!” Scholar clapped his hands together as he smiled at Fran. “Fran, would you mind guiding these good souls to the festivities?”

The ponies all gave the Doctor inquiring looks with varying amounts of skepticism, which he responded to with a reassuring nod and smile.

Fran momentarily shot him an indignant look before sighing heavily and accepting defeat. “Very well, Scholar. I’ll show them the way out. But I am coming  _right_  back, understand?” The last part carried no small amount of threat.

Scholar allowed a minute amount of regret to enter his stance. “Completely.” He breathed.

Fran pursed her lips before wheeling around and striding out of the room.

Dinky, Sparkler, and Carrot Top followed her with varying amounts of reluctance, though Derpy halted, hovering near his shoulder as she gave him a concerned look. “Child troubles?” She asked gently.

Scholar flinched and glanced over his shoulder at Fran, who was happily demonstrating her numerous limbs to a mesmerized Dinky. “I... betrayed her trust... and hurt her...”

Derpy’s eyes momentarily came into focus as she stared at the human. “Do you care for her?”

Scholar met her eyes with determination. “More than anything.”

Derpy’s smile came back in an instant. “Then it’ll all work out!” And with that, she flew off to join the rest.

Scholar smiled after as she went, even as the Doctor stepped up next to him wearing a similar expression. “She’s a wonderful mare.”

The Doctor beamed and nodded in agreement as his companions stepped out the door. “That she is. That she is.”

The second the door to the room closed, Scholar and the Doctor’s expressions became deathly grave.

“How bad is it?” The Doctor stated more than asked in a stony voice.

“It’s only just started...” Scholar growled as he clutched his right hand. “But I don’t know if I’ll be able to stop it.” He scowled and shook his head. “I... two  _thousand_  years, Doctor. I had time. So much time, and now... now it’s all gone. In the blink of an eye. Although...” Scholar let out a grim chuckle. “I suppose  _you_  wouldn’t know what that’s like, would you?”

The Doctor looked up his old friend with ancient, sorrowful eyes. “I wish I didn’t. I truly,  _truly_  wish I didn’t.”

Scholar tried to find a response, but merely resorted to shaking his head again. “I don’t want to go...” He stated numbly. “For once in my life, I really,  _really_  don’t want to go. I just... I...”

The Doctor placed his hoof on his friend’s leg, this time smiling sadly. “I know what that feels like too.”

Scholar looked down at his friend for a second before sighing, expelling all his misery and grievances in a single breath.

Without flair or panache, the human waved a hand through the air, conjuring up a trail of runes that followed his fingers and illuminated the air. In response, a section of the wall glowed and shrank away, opening a hole to the outside and allowing a wall of noise and light to enter.

Slowly, without so much as a care in the world, the mismatched duo stepped through the opening and onto the newly formed balcony, staring out over the wide, wide crystalline metropolis.

Scholar and the Doctor wordlessly watched as the festivities took place, soaking in the sheer amount of  _life_  below them.

Finally, the Doctor spoke.

“Was it worth it?”

Scholar was silent for a full minute before finally reacting. “Hm?”

“This.” The Doctor jerked his head, indicating the festivities. “All of it. Was it worth all the death and bloodshed that’s occurred today? Is this the Vitrum you dreamed of returning to? In your honest opinion I mean.”

Scholar chewed the inside of his cheek thoughtfully. “Well... without my friends... the Oligarchs... and all the other species and beautiful, _beautiful_  beings that populated it... it’s not whole. It’s not... complete. It’s Vitrum, but it’s... hollow. Ever so slightly empty...”

Suddenly, the sound of whooshing and whizzing drew the attention of the two ancients, and they watched as numerous streaks of light shot up into the sky.

All grew dark for a moment.

Then...

**BOOM!**

The night lit up in a dizzying array of patterns, designs, colors...

Scholar allowed a smile to slide onto his face. “Yeah... yeah, it was worth it. It all will be.”

The Doctor smiled and nodded in agreement.

And with that, Scholar and the Doctor stood there, and for the first time in a long time...

They knew peace.


	24. Explosive Reunions

“Is it ready?” Pinkie squealed, bouncing up and down around the Changeling that was crouched in front of a crystal tube that was pointing skywards. “Is it? Is it? Is it?”

“Hold on...” Chitter mused, fiddling with the chemicals and substances in the shell located at the  bottom of the tube. “Just a bit more...” He slowly slid a wick into the bottom of the launcher and proceeded to light it with a spark of magic. “DUCK AND COVER!” He chortled, wheeling around and covering his head with his hooves, a motion that Pinkie imitated immediately.

The fire burned down the fiber, coming closer and closer to the tube until it went inside. Then...

Chitter blinked  in confusion before standing up and peering down into the tube. “What the heck...?”

“Hmm...” Pinkie rubbed her chin as she sidled up next to him and mirrored the motion. “Did you use enough explosive powder? That _always_  happens to m-!”

**BOOM!**

Chitter and Pinkie Pie blinked slowly as they cleared the spots from their eyes.

“I think we had enough gunpowder...” Chitter wheezed, a puff of smoke escaping his mouth.

“Yeah...” Pinkie agreed as she wiped the soot from her fur.

**BA-BOOM!**

The pair’s heads snapped up as the firework exploded high up in the sky, unleashing a wave of colors for all to enjoy.

“Wooooow...” Pinkie breathe in awe. “How do you think that kinda stuff works?”

“A mixture of sulfur, charcoal and potassium nitrate is ignited, causing it to combust with enough force to launch a shell containing more gunpowder into the atmosphere. The gunpowder in the shell is set on a timed fuse so that it’ll detonate at an appropriate altitude, which in turn ignites gunpowder that is mixed with such ingredients as lithium, calcium, copper, cesium and other elements in order to produce a variety of colored flames.” Chitter recited in an academic tone before blinking and shrugging. “Or at least, that’s the technical explanation. Personally, I think that it’s easier to just say that fire plus black powder equals boom.”

Pinkie’s jaw hung open as she stared at the brown-eyed changeling before speaking. “Ya know... I really don’t get ya.”

“Hm?” Chitter twisted his head around and raised an eyebrow at the party pony.

“I mean!” Pinkie waved her hoof around helplessly. “One second you’re acting all loopy-loopy like me!”

“You mean like when I comment on how yellow bananas smell like purple elephants?”

“Yeah, like that!” Pinkie jabbed her hoof at him before turning her eyes upwards and tapping her chin. “But then you say really,  _really_  smart egg-heady stuff that I’d expect from  _Twilight,_  and she’s the egg-headiest person that I know! So how come you’re like that?”

Chitter bit his bottom-lip and tilted his head side to side before shrugging. “Weeeell...” He clopped his hooves together as he grinned eagerly. “It’s like this! I was always a smart little larva, growing up. Top of the classes, Neophyte when I was two, Magister by four. Impressive, even with my kind’s growth rates. But, ah...” He tapped his hoof against the side of his head a bit harder than had to be comfortable. “Rules were always a bit loosey-goosey for me. I kept takin’ explosions and booms to the head, but I always felt _fiiiine_  afterwards! Sometimes, even  _more_  than fine! So, I just kept goin’ and goin’ and here I am!”

Chitter turned around completely and leered at her with a somewhat madness-tinged grin. “Nowadays... the madness comes!” He inhaled and hastily drew his hooves up his chest. “And then it goes...” He exhaled, slowly pushing his hooves away. “And then it comes...” He slowly brought his hooves together. “And then it goes!” His hooves leapt apart from one another. “And then it comes and goes!” He tapped his hooves against his forehead and threw them apart. “And then...”

Suddenly, without warning, Chitter leapt at Pinkie Pie and bowled her over, pinning her to the ground as he leered over her menacingly. _“It’s there, right there!”_  He roared, spittle flying from his mouth.  **“** _Baying for_ _ **blood**_ _and_ _ **fire**_ _and_ _ **rampage**_ **,** _ **howling**_ _and_ _ **clawing**_ _at my skull for days on end with_ _ **no rest**_ _!_ _ **No tolerance! No end! Just fire, fire,**_ _ **FIRE!!!”**_

He whipped one of his hooves to his side and returned it holding a large, green fruit. “Would you care for some watermelon?”

Pinkie blinked before slowly shaking her head. “No thanks.”

Chitter blinked in turn before stepping off her and falling on his rear, tilting his head in confusion. “Where the  _heck_  did I get a watermelon?” He asked.

Pinkie scrambled back to her hooves and beamed at the deranged changeling. “Oh, that’s easy! You brought your hooves to your side, where this  _weird_  swirly thing of colors showed up before you put your hoof in and took out the watermelon! It’s  _really_  neato, I’ve been seeing people use it all over town! Even me!”

“Psh!” Chitter scoffed and rolled his eyes. “That’s just my personal pocket dimension,  _everyone_  can use those, either instinctively or with training. No, I mean  _this_  watermelon specifically!” He leaned in and sniffed the green skin. “I don’t remember picking it up...”

Pinkie shrugged helplessly. “Weeell... in that case, I dunno!”

“Huh...” Chitter stared at it for a moment before shrugging. “Ah well! Bye bye!” And with that, he heaved his leg and tossed the watermelon over the edge of the street.

Pinkie chuckled at the antics... before freezing as her entire body started to vibrate. “Doozy! Doozy!”

Chitter blinked in surprise. “Wow, you’ve got precognition too? You’re really,  _really_  lucky! What’dya think’ll happ-?”

**BOOM!**

The two jumped in surprise when an explosion rang out from below the street.

Slowly, the pair peered out over the edge and took in the array of juicy, fruity destruction below.

“Oh yeeeaaah...” Chitter breathed as he pounded one hoof into the other. “Nooow I remember where I got that watermelon. I was checking the auxiliary lab I had set up here in Vitrum and saw that my nitroglycerin-hydroponics project was still active.”

Pinkie tilted her head to the side as she watched pink juice drip down from... everywhere. “Looks like it worked to me.”

“Ha!” Chitter barked. “Boy did it! I had two right then and there and saved a third for the road!”

The pair continued to observe the scene for a moment before Pinkie blinked and slowly looked at the pyrotechnic insectoid. “Waaait... you _ate_  two explosive watermelons?”

Chitter shrugged indifferently. “Yeah? So wha-?”

He was cut off by a  _very_  loud roar erupting from his gut.

The pair slowly looked down at his stomach before looking back up.

“On second thought, I get your point.” Chitter whispered. Acting fast, he rammed his hoof into the road, causing a large rectangular construct of crystal to rise up behind them. He ripped the door open and wheeled around to stand in the entrance. “In case I don’t make it out of this, the code to stop my lab’s self destruct is Alpha-Tango-79-Papa...” He trailed off before shrugging. “Bah, I forget.” He then proceeded to grimace as another  _louder_  roar rang out. “This is gonna  _suck!”_  He stepped back and shut the door.

Suddenly, a very loud, very  _gastric_  sound erupted from the stall, shaking Pinkie and the street in general.  **“OH GOD, IT BURNS! WHY!? WHY DOES IT BURN!? WHYYY-** Hey, wait!” The sound and shaking suddenly stopped. “Huh, on second thought, it’s a bit uncomfortable, but it’s not like it’s  _that_  bad! I think that I’m gonna be oka- **AHH!”**  The sound redoubled in force.  **“I WAS WRONG! I WAS HORRIBLY, HORRIBLY WRONG!”**

Pinkie stared at the stall in confusion before a look of understanding came across her face. “Ooooh! ‘Explosive diarrhea’! Nooow I get it!” She frowned and tilted her head to the side. “Wow, that kind of humor is a  _lot_  more mature than usual. I thought we were rated-?”

She was frozen in place by parts of her body jerking about.

“Quakey front hooves!” Pinkie listed as her forelegs trembled from the knees down. “Rapid blinking!” Her eyelids fluttered rapidly. “And talking really really reallyreallyreallyreally _reaaaally_  fast! But that means-!” Her eyes shot wide in shock as she jumped into the air and let out a  _huuuuge_  gasp. “Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh!”

Pinkie hastily knocked on the stall door. “Hey-Chitter-sorry-I-gotta-go-something- _really_ -important-came-up-I’ll-try-and-find-you-later-but-I-gotta-go-bye!” And with that she shot off.

“Hey, wait!” Chitter opened the door and made to follow her. “I’ll come too!”

His stomach rumbled and roared.

“Or-maybe-not!” He bit out before jumping back and ramming the door shut... which caused the stall to tilt and fall over.

“... well  _this_  is going to stain.”

Pinkie bounced down the road, weaving through the crowd of partygoers as she followed the tingly feeling she had in her muzzle. The pink mare frowned as she recognized the distance between she and her target, and as such made a hasty decision in her head. She glanced around for a moment before grinning as she found what she was looking for.

Pinkie bounced off the back of a low-flying changeling, up to the top of a booth that was selling crystal donuts, and into the flare of light that was hanging  _right_  inside the barrel of pastries the booth was selling.

She popped out of an empty staircase a block away, slid under the hooves of a conga-line that was about a dozen ponies and changelings long and dropped into the light that was  _just_  over the edge of the square.

And so it went, from street to street, block to block, from bush to crate to dress to a large replica clam being carried by two crystal ponies to the hingeless mouth of a griffin statue. On and on, across the city, closer and closer to her destination until finally...

Pinkie leapt out of a discarded mug of...  _something,_  sprang at her target and wrapped her hooves around the neck of-

_**“MAUDIE!”**_  She squealed eagerly, picking up her eldest sister and swinging her around gleefully. “Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh, it’s been so  _loooong,_  Maudie! How’ve you been? Have you had fun? When was the last time you had a cupcake!?”

Maud Pie smiled exuberantly, the corners of her lips tilting up a full five degrees. “Hello, Pinkie Pie. I’ve been fine. I have had fun, and it has been about a month since my last cup-” She was cut off by pink hoof ramming a pastry into her mouth.

“It's  _sooo_  good to see you again, Maud!” Pinkie smiled eagerly. “Things have been  _really_  crazy for awhile! I still can’t believe that I managed to set all this up, especially after-!” She cut herself off by gasping deeply. “Oh my gosh, were you here when the fighting was happening, are you hurt?!”

The purple mare swallowed and wiped her mouth with the heavy cloak she was wearing. She visibly frowned at her sister. “No, I’m fine. I got into Vitrum after everything was over and done with. I was pleasantly surprised to find one of your party’s going on. But what about you? Are you fine?”

Pinkie smiled and nodded happily. “Yuppers! I’m a-okay! I wasn’t anywhere the fighting! Well...” She frowned and shrugged as she corrected herself. “Actually, I  _was_  close to it for a bit, buuut I wasn’t in any danger. But anyways!” She beamed at her sister. “What are you _doing_  here, Maudie? How’d ya get here? How’d you know where to find this place?”

“Yeah...”

The Pie sisters looked up in surprise at the voice that sounded above them.

Hovering above them were Nix and Null, both of their eyes narrowed in the closest expressions they had to a frown.

“That’s what we wanna know too.” Null stated firmly.

“Hello, Miss Pie,” Nix greeted in a faux-saccharine voice. “Welcome to Vitrum, a city whose name you somehow already know. The degree to which your stay here will be a pleasant one depends entirely on how you answer our questions.”

Pinkie smiled nervously as she waved at the twin golems. “H-hello, Nix and Null! This is my sister, Maud! Are you two enjoying the party? Can I try and getcha anything, or... uh...” Her cheer deflated under the cold demeanor of the normally wacky and jovial constructs.

“So... Maud, was it?” Nix continued, clapping her hands together. “We’re a tad  _confused_  here. How did you know where we were, much less what the name of this city was?”

“Uhh...” Pinkie blinked in confusion. “Why... does that matter? I mean, it doesn’t  _sound_  that important, so-?”

“It  _matters,”_  Null cut her off frigidly. “Because this city hasn’t really been...  _anything_  for the past two thousand years. It hasn’t existed. Period. So the fact that someone was able to find out it’s location and name within the week it’s come back into being, not to mention making their way past the defenses to reach here? Yeah, it’s important. Important enough to concern the both of us.”

“Yeeeaaah, that’s another thing.” Nix tilted her head at her brother. “Defenses around Vitrum? They’re  _reeeal_  tight. Making it through the mountains and tundra is one thing. Making it past the  _Windigoes?_  We have  _very_  real reason to be concerned.”

“The Windigo let me in.”

The Twins snapped their heads towards Maud.

“I’m sorry?” Null questioned flatly.

“The Windigo who stopped me.” Maud shrugged minutely. “It went away and let me keep coming towards Vitrum.”

“Yeeeaaah...” Nix droned again as she tilted her head side to side. “That’s the thing... impressive as the Windigoes might be, they’re not infallible. See, if Princess Bleach-Butt and Ink-Blot choose to play hardball with us-”

“Which they will,” Null interjected.

“Which they will,” His sister nodded in agreement. “Then it would be child's play for them to, say,  implant artificial emotions in any agent they chose to send north so that the Windigoes might read them as friendly or inoffensive, and choose to let them pass by unharmed.”

“Plus...” Null drifted closer to the dark purple mare. “You  _still_  haven’t answered how you know so much about where we are. And that’s an answer we really want to hear.” He began to casually flex his fingers. “And we’d be  _ever_  so disappointed if we didn’t get those answers.”

Pinkie swallowed and smiled nervously as she took a step back, while Maud remained impassive as she stared up at the golem. “Boulder told me.” She responded evenly.

“And who is this... ‘Boulder’?” Null air-quoted.

“He’s my pet rock.”

Nix and Null stared at Maud flatly for a minute before slowly turning to stare at one another. They then slowly looked back. “Excuse me?” Null asked flatly.

“Boulder is my pet rock.” Maud repeated.

The twins looked at each other again before Null gave Pinkie Pie a flat stare. “Is she serious?” He deadpanned. “Because you’re related to one another, so tell me, is she bullshitting us or just flat out crazy?”

“Nope!” Pinkie chirped gleefully. “She’s had Boulder for  _years!”_

“Here...” Maud dug through her cloak before holding out her hoof, a medium-sized rock balanced on the end of the limb.

Nix and Null stared at the rock. Null’s look was flat, with one of his eyes twitching slightly, whereas Nix was staring intently at the stone, analyzing it intently.

“Right!” The red golem clapped his hands together, his voice all too sweet. “What say we go on a quick little date? You, me, Boulder, a dark room about a mile below the-”

“Actually!” Nix interjected, hastily interposing herself between her brother and the mare. “Would you terribly mind if I had a little... _chat_  with Boulder for a moment?”

“Sure.” Maud held up the rock, which Nix gingerly took into her hand.

“What!?” Null squawked in disbelief. “Nix, what’re you-?”

“Continue the line of questioning.” The green golem said quietly without looking up from the rock she was holding.

“Oh come on!” He scoffed in disbelief. “You can’t actually  _believe_ -!”

“Null!” Nix snapped her head around and glared at her brother. “Continue. The line. Of questioning.” She ordered firmly.

Null spread his hands in disbelief before slapping one to his face. “Son of a... fine!” He threw his hands up in frustration. “Fine! Fine.” He lowered himself down to Maud’s level while his sister continued to examine the stone, a few bits of energy sparking from her fingers on occasion.

“So... Maud... ‘Pie’, was it?” He droned dully, bringing a notepad out of his hand and making a show of looking it over. “Let’s just skip ahead a bit. What are your intentions here in our fair city of Vitrum, blah blah blah...”

Maud was unfazed. “I would like to become a Neophyte of the Academia Arcana.”

_“Excuse me?”_  Null demanded sharply, snapping his head up as he dismissed the pad.

“WHAT?!” Pinkie yelped, jumping in front of her sister and clutching her shoulders. “B-b-but Maud! What about your rocktorate in rock studies!? I thought you wanted to be a-a-a rock-sciencey-person or-or-!”

“A geologist, Pinkie.” Maud answered softly, placing her own hoof on her sister’s shoulder. “And I  _still_  do. But the fact is, the Academia Arcana can offer me a  _far_  more thorough education and more opportunities than the Stalliongrad College of Geology could ever hope. I’m just looking for the best option I can get.”

“But...” Pinkie bit her lip miserably. “Y-you’ll have to fight Princess Celestia and Equestria and-and-!”

“No.” Maud cut her off hastily. “I wouldn’t.”

“She’s right...” Null added slowly. “She wouldn’t have to. The Academia Arcana has five ranks of members: Neophyte, Alumnus, Magister, Arch Magus and Professor Magnus. Technically four, seeing how Scholar permanently holds the sole rank of Professor Magnus. The Neophytes are entry-level members, students and apprentices in the truest form. They are never required to take part in any conflicts the Academia becomes a part of, and no members of the Academia are discriminated against, regardless of race or nationality.”

“However...” Null began to raise into the air, his voice taking on a dangerous undertone. “During times of conflicts, we take recruitment _very_  seriously. We scrutinize our latest Neophytes for security purposes.” He slowly wandered forwards to loom over Maud. “Even  _if_  we were to ignore the fact that you know a  _lot_  of stuff that you shouldn’t know, it’d take a  _lot_  more than you just asking to get into the Academia. And  _if_  we even considered you for admission, you’d need to prove your worth, someway, somehow. And frankly?” He brought himself within inches of Maud’s impassive face. “I  _seriously_  doubt you have what it takes to make the cut.”

“Hey!” Pinkie shot up between the two of them, jabbing her hoof at the golem. “Maud is a  _great_  geolo-whatsit! She can  _totally_  prove how incredibly super-tacularly awesome she is, no-!”

“Alright, you know what!” Null snarled, tapping his face against Pinkie Pie’s. “I’m enjoying the party, and frankly, I find your antics to be hilarious, but right now? I’m on the clock! So either you back up or I will demonstrate to you how we here in Concordia define the term _acceptable for-!”_

**THWACK!**

“GYAH!” Null cried, his head literally spinning as he was snapped away from the pink pony by a purple hoof.

Maud snorted and stepped in front of her sibling as she glared at the golem. “Don’t threaten my sister.” She warned.

Null clamped his hands on his head, ceasing his spin-out as he returned the glare ten-fold. “Okay... I’ve been trying to be polite... I’ve been having nice, non-violent fun, because frankly, I  _try_  not to enjoy violence... but if it walks like a troll, talks like a troll and  _smells_  like a troll, then you can be sure as hellfire that I’m gonna  _treat it like I would a damn tro-OAGH!”_  He squawked when, the moment he released his head, it began to spin just as fast as before.  _“WHY CAN’T I STO-O-OP!?”_

“Hang on...” Nix interjected, grabbing her brother’s head with one hand, while the other held on to Boulder. She leaned in and inspected Null’s skull. “It looks like the portion of your stabilizer array that controls your x-axis has been cracked clean through.”

Null’s eye twitched before he stared at Maud in disbelief. “Ignoring the sheer brute strength needed to do that, how the  _hell_  would she hit me there apart from pure luck?”

“Your body told me where to hit you.” Maud replied flatly.

Null’s eye twitched again before slowly cracking his knuckles. “I take back what I said earlier...” He droned. “I am going to  _very_  much enjoy this.”

“Null.” Nix interjected, bringing up another hand. “I want you to look at Boulder.”

“Nix, what the heck are you-?” Null looked at his sister like she was crazy.

_“Null!”_ Nix hissed, emphasizing her every word. “I told you. To look.  _At the damn rock!”_  And with that, she rammed Boulder into Null’s hand, green energy wrapping around both her and her brother’s hands.

In an instant, Null’s eyes shot wide in shock as he stared at his hand. After a minute, Nix let the magic dissipate and drew her hand away. Finally, Null looked back up at his sister. “You... don’t honestly think...?”

“It’s the only explanation!” Nix spread her arms helplessly. “How she knows so much, how she knew where to hit!”

“But the chances of her being able to-!” Null was cut off by Nix jabbing her finger at Pinkie. Null stared at her for a moment before nodding in Nix’s grip. “Point taken, but still, the chances of her getting  _that_  are-!”

“Pinkie, Maud!” Nix spoke up. “Where did you grow up and how did you get Boulder?”

“Oh!” Pinkie waved her hoof in the air eagerly. “Me and Maud grew up on a rock farm!”

“I got Boulder when I shattered a rock that Pinkie Pie gave me for my Cute-cenera.” Maud stated.

Nix jabbed her hand at the sisters, her entire body seeming to scream ‘told you so’.

Null stared at her wide-eyed for a second before looking back at Maud. “Alright...” He said slowly, bringing out a clipboard and pen from his hands and holding them before Maud. “Congratulations, you’re in. Me and Nix will vouch for you. Just on the lines with Xs...”

He waited as Maud took the pen in her mouth and proceeded to do so before bringing the board and implement up, allowing Nix and himself to sign it before putting it away. “Okay, today’s obviously a festival day, so feel free to enjoy yourself. When you get tired, ask around and someone will direct you to the Neophyte Dorms, orientation will be at noon tomorrow. Until then... have fun, I guess.”

He looked at Nix. “Now, can we go to the golemancy labs and get my head fixed? I’d like to be able to move of my own volition, thank you very much.”

Nix gave a lax salute to the Pies. “See you around, Neophyte.”

And with that, the Twins flew off, weaving around Vitrum’s cityscape.

Pinkie watched as the pair left before pouting at her sister. “I  _wanna_  be happy for you, but now we won’t be able to see each other again for a  _really_  long time!” She whined.

Maud’s mouth tilted up a whopping fifteen degrees as she beamed at her sister. “Then we’ll just have to enjoy this party to it’s fullest. After all...” She looked around at the festivities going on around them. “It  _is_  one of the best you’ve ever thrown. Though I don’t know how you threw a party for an entire city.”

Pinkie’s smile returned full force, albeit a bit shakily. “Outside influences, but still! You’re right, it  _is_  a party! Let’s have some  _FUN!”_  And with that, she lifted onto her back-hooves and spread her forelegs wide. “HEY EVERYBODY!” She bellowed. “THERE’S A CONGA-LINE FIFTEEN PONIES LONG ON DIAMOND BOULEVARD! WHO WANTS TO SHOW THEM HOW IT’S  _REALLY_  DONE!?”

“I’M IN!” A voice called from a rectangular stall made of crystal that hopped its way on to the street. “LET’S DO THIS! WOO!”

Nearly fifty other resounding cheers and one modest “Alright” answered her, causing her smile to widen even more.


	25. Chapter 25. Quiet Meetings

Fluttershy glanced around at the tall, markless walls of the hall she was trotting down.

“Wow...” She breathed to herself. “This place is...  _incredible._  And I thought it was impressive from the outside...”

And it was. Fluttershy had been wandering the streets of Vitrum for about an hour or so. Sure, she’d been having a bit of fun here and there as she went, but mainly, the pegasus had been doing what she always did during a Pinkie Party: searching for a quiet corner where she could weather the brunt of the cacophony that the affair inevitably produced.

At first, she hadn’t had much luck. Pinkie had been  _very_  thorough with the organization and dispersal of the festivities. There wasn’t so much as a single inch of the crystalline metropolis where the party wasn’t in full swing.

Finally, however, Fluttershy had come across a large structure. Though, to be accurate, ‘large’ didn’t even begin to cover it. The dark-red crystal building was over a hundred feet tall, and judging by how the curve of the walls meant she couldn’t see all the way around it, it had to be over 1000 feet wide.

Nevertheless, despite the immense stature of the edifice, Fluttershy couldn’t hear even a single sound coming from it, and that was exactly what she was hoping for. Luckily, as circuitous as the rest of the city might be, the roads leading into the building were easy enough to locate and follow.

Once inside, Fluttershy trotted down a large, nigh-cavernous corridor that followed the curve of the building and was illuminated at regular intervals by arcane lights that hung near the ceiling. The further she went, the more the sounds of the party faded behind her. A fair bit of her time was spent peering into abandoned alcoves that seemed to line the wall, as well as what appeared to be doorways that led into nothing but crystal. On occasion, she came upon stairwells that led up and down and perpendicularly intersecting corridors of equal stature, but she instead elected to continue straight ahead.

After a few minutes, she came to a corridor larger than any of the others that led to a doorway as large as the initial entrance that was filled with a wall of bright, intangible light. Fluttershy bit her lip as she considered her options. On the one hand, while the arch was no doubt intimidating, she couldn’t deny that there wasn’t so much as a peep coming from beyond it.

Finally, Fluttershy exhaled a large breath, dug her flask out of her feathers and took a deep swig. “Come on, Fluttershy...” She mumbled to herself as she trotted forwards. “Iron Will might have been a lying faker, but there was one thing that I can take to heart!”

She stepped through the light, allowing the magic to part around her like a gas-liquid combination.

“Attack the-!”

_**“ROOOOAAAAARRGH!”** _

“MEEP!” Fluttershy squeaked in terror, slipping onto her hindquarters in shock at the near-literal wall of sound that slammed into her ears.

As she reeled from the sensory overload, Fluttershy slowly came to process her surroundings. Closest she could tell, the pegasus was between the bleachers of an absolutely massive colosseum. Only half of the noise that was vibrating the air was composed of titanic bestial bellows and howls. The other half was a multitude of cheers and cries of elation sounding out from the mass of ponies and changelings that were watching from the stands.

Even from where she was sitting, Fluttershy had a clear view of what they were cheering about: in the pit of the arena, two titanic creatures were facing off against one another. One was the smoky, ethereal form that she recognized as Cerberus, grown to massive proportions, the closest he had to fangs bared and his pseudo-muscles tensed in eager anticipation.

The other was... it was something. Vaguely canine in nature, like how a dragon resembled a lizard, it was as equally massive as Cerberus, save that it was coated in actual- if twisted and strained- flesh, and any facial features it had were covered by a messy mop of hair that was a familiar shade of blue.

Any mysteries about the creature’s identity were dispelled when it started to laugh in an all-too familiar, somewhat distorted voice.

**“BAHAHA! IS THAT THE BEST YOU’VE GOT, YOU DUMB MUTT?!”**  Gavrill barked mockingly.  **“COME ON, YOU CAN DO BETTER! FIGHT LIKE YOU’VE ACTUALLY** _ **GOT**_ **A FUCKING P-!”**

**“WOOF!”**

**“GAGH!”** Gavrill cut herself off when her canine sibling lunged forwards, clamping his side heads on her shoulders and working at mauling her limbs while his middle head snapped forwards, trying to get at her face.

Nevertheless, in a herculean feat of strength, Gavrill managed to wrench her hands up and catch the middle head’s jaws mere feet from her face, ignoring the assault on her shoulders. She then wrenched her arms backward,  _ripping_  the head from its shoulders and causing the other two to howl in pain, releasing her from their grasp and allowing her to stagger backwards, the head dissipating into nothing in her claws.

As swiftly as the damage was done, it was undone, Gavrill’s shoulders rapidly stitching themselves shut while the stump of a neck erupted in darkness before coalescing into an unharmed but no less infuriated head.

Gavrill panted heavily for a moment before leering eagerly.  **“NOW** _ **THAT’S**_ **WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT! READY FOR ROUND TWO, SHITBRAIN?”**

Cerberus matched her grin for grin.  _ **“WOOF!”**_

And with that, the pair fell into a furious, senseless brawl of fangs and fury, prompting the onlooking crowd to roar their approval all the louder.

Fluttershy swallowed heavily as she worked to get herself to her hooves and backpedal into the archway as calmly as she could. She wasn’t paralyzed by the fight like most would have expected. If anything, it was all too similar to the fights that some of her more carnivorous friends back in Ponyville sometimes got into. Nevertheless, all she wanted to do at the moment was get as  _far away from there as poss-!_

She had just about shuffled her way back into the archway she had come through when a familiar voice cut through the haze of raw terror.

“What the- Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy span around in shock at the familiar voice just off to her left and up. “I-Iron Will!?”

The minotaur in question looked down at her from the bleachers in surprise before vaulting over the railings and landing in front of her “What are you doing here?” He queried.

“U-uh...” Fluttershy stammered nervously. “I-I was looking for a q-quiet place, so...”

“Ah, right, the soundproofing wards,” Iron Will nodded in understanding. “Those are actually meant to keep the sounds of  _that,”_  He jerked his head towards the arena. “In. Inside, though... Well, while Iron Will can certainly see the appeal - watching those two tear into one another is certainly entertaining - it’s not the kind of spectacle Iron Will wants to partake in at the moment.”

“O-Oh. W-Well, don’t let me k-keep you…” Fluttershy squeaked out.

Iron Will cocked an eyebrow at the paralyzed mare for a moment before heaving a heavy sigh. “Look... Iron Will got directions from a Crystal Pony leading to a  _truly_  quiet place that you might enjoy. Do you want to come find it with Iron Will, or...?”

Fluttershy mentally weighed her options for a moment. On the one hand, follow the heavily armed and armored minotaur to whereabouts unknown. On the other…

The sound of snapping cartilage and tearing flesh rang out, followed by a pained howl that

prompted another round of roaring cheers and applause.

**“HOW DO YOU LIKE ME NOW, THREE-LEGS?”**

“I-I think I’ll come with you… if that’s alright...” Fluttershy replied, her voice barely audible over the crowd.

Iron Will grunted and nodded. “Come on, then.” He stomped through the archway and its foggy barrier, followed closely by Fluttershy.

As the two made their way into the arena’s outer rings, Fluttershy looked around at the abandoned corridors curiously. “Wh-why is this place...?”

“Abandoned?” Iron Will provided. “Easy enough. Vast majority of Vitrum’s population is out partying, and only a thousand or two are currently watching the fight. The booth owners and vendors haven’t set up yet, either, and they’re normally the ones occupying these spaces.”

“H-how do you-?”

“Iron Will asked while he was following the crowd in. Now then... ah, this one should do.” He stopped in front of one of the empty doorways that led into the wall. “Now, let’s see... I think...” Iron Will raised his arm to his left shoulder, removed a circular piece of metal from his pauldron and pressed it into the crystalline wall. Instantly, the doorframe lit up with runes, and the doorway itself filled with light.

“There we go!” Iron Will grinned as he put the amulet back in his armor. “Scholar was right, these things  _are_  useful. Now then, come on.” He strode through the wall of light, once again followed by Fluttershy.

When she stepped out, Fluttershy rubbed her forelegs over her eyelids in an effort to clear her vision. As the spots faded away, Fluttershy’s eyes widened and her pace slowed as she took in the scenery before her.

It was... nature. Simple as that. A field of grass and flowers and soft rolling hills, broken only by the occasional tree or vertical outcropping of stone. Perhaps one of the most striking aspects of the land was simply how... natural it all felt. Like it was an honest to goodness slice of wilderness instead of just another urban park.

Fluttershy opened and shut her mouth numbly. “I... This... where...?”

“This is the Overloft.” Iron Will grinned pleasantly. “Remember those small islands that started floating above Vitrum after it was completely unsealed? Each of them has its own ecosystem on it that acts as a nature preserve and natural laboratory for the ecology-focused researchers.”

“Are-are there… animals?” Fluttershy breathed. A small lapine head poking its head out from behind a nearby tree answered her. Fluttershy’s face lit up with a radiant smile at the sight of the animal... before swiftly withering as a thought struck her. “Ah...”

“Worried that they’ll snub you?” Iron Will chuckled, not unkindly.

Fluttershy paled and her ears folded against her head. “Y-you h-heard about that?”

“Everyone from Manehattan to the San Palomino heard about that little... Iron Will will be polite and call it an ‘event’.”

“W-well...”

“And to answer your question...” Iron Will knelt down on his hooves, held out his hand and whistled. The rabbit perked up, jumped out of its burrow and hopped up to Iron Will, rubbing its head against the palm of Iron Will’s gauntlet. “The animals are used to interacting with the researchers and anyone else here for a picnic or otherwise. They’ll take kindly to you.”

Fluttershy let out a squee of joy as she swept the bunny up in a joyous hug. The bunny reciprocated, cheerfully nuzzling her. The sound of more squeaks drew her attention away from the hug and to a small crowd of animals. Mice, rabbits, squirrels, birds of all varieties, even some small rodents that Fluttershy didn’t recognize.

Reluctantly putting down the rabbit she had been hugging, Fluttershy cautiously made her way to the small crowd of animals, though picking up speed as they didn’t run away from her. She leaned over to take a closer look at one of the unfamiliar rodents.

“Oh, I don’t recognize you. What’s your name?”

Iron Will smiled as he watched the pegasus interact with the small crowd of animals, flitting about and speaking with them pleasantly.

Leaving her to her frolicking, the armored minotaur looked around for a moment before heading towards an isolated tree standing alone on one of the low hills.

Reaching the side of the tree that was casting a healthy shade, Iron Will reached over his shoulder, unlatched his club, and leaned it against the trunk before sitting down and leaning himself against the tree in turn.

He reached up to his shoulder... and froze. His face twisted in intense thought before flashing with horror, disgust, and finally resignation. Slowly, and with great trepidation, he clutched his pauldron, unlatched it, and gingerly lifted it off his shoulder.

Or, at least, he tried. The piece of armor stuck fast, and he was forced to start peeling it off. Once there was a gap between his skin and the metal, he leaned in and gave a sniff, recoiling almost immediately. With a weary sigh, he finished removing the armor off and set it aside.

Iron Will repeated the process with the rest of the armor on his legs and arms, slowly and surely peeling them off, a process made difficult due to the sweat matting his fur.

Finally, he reached his chestplate. This one was more difficult, and it took a  _lot_  of effort, but when he finally managed to lever it off...

Iron Will grimaced as he stared at the bronze plate he was holding. Slowly, he reached forwards and felt over the twin holes in the metal. When he drew his fingers back, they came back stained red. Looking down, he lightly touched the areas of uninjured muscle that were surrounded by patches of blood-matted fur.

After repeating the process with the back half of the armor, he finally leaned himself back against the tree, his muscles going lax as he let out a massive exhalation, filled with exhaustion and weariness.

Iron Will laid there for a few minutes, thoughts flitting to and from through his burnt out mind.

Finally, he leaned forwards and started digging through the pile of his armor until he found his pauldron. Once he found it, he worked the amulet out of its socket again. Iron Will then held it in his palm and tapped its center, causing the circle of metal to light up with magic and runes. He swept his fingers through a sequence of glyphs before waiting patiently.

After a few seconds, the amulet pulsed with magic and a translucent copy of Scholar’s head appeared floating above Iron Will’s hand.

_“Hey Iron Will! I see you’re enjoying Prairie Field! Not the most_ originally _named of locations, sure, but I’ll admit to catching a quick nap there once in awhile. Aaanyways, what are you calling for?”_

Iron Will opened his mouth to speak... then hesitated, the words dying in his throat.

Scholar frowned.  _“Iron Will? What is it?”_

Iron Will heaved a heavy sigh and slowly shook his head. “Scholar... is this... any of this... ever going to get any easier?”

The light in Scholar’s glasses blinked momentarily before he too sighed with equal weariness.  _“What brought this on?”_  He asked quietly.

“Iron Will...” The minotaur’s free hand unconsciously came up to his shoulder. “Iron Will just took off his armor...”

_“And you realized that you couldn’t remember the last time you took it off.”_  Scholar completed in a somber tone.

“No...” Iron Will shook his head. “Iron Will remembers when he last took his armor off. The problem is that the last time Iron Will did that was two weeks ago. Not!” He hastily rose his hand when Scholar flinched. “That Iron Will blames you. Iron Will knew what was coming, he expected this... or...” He groaned and ran his hand over his muzzle. “Iron Will... Iron Will thought he did... he’s killed before, life as a vagrant all but guaranteed it happening, but... but this...”

Iron Will gestured fruitlessly. “He... Iron Will just needs to know if this is how things are going to be. If... this is Iron Will’s life now. Iron Will can live with it if it is, but... Iron Will just wants to know for certain, that’s...” He hung his head. “That’s all.”

Scholar was silent for a moment before he groaned, lifting his glasses onto his forehead as he rubbed his eyes.  _“I... Iron Will... I want to tell you that things are going to get better. I want to reassure you... but I respect you too much to rehash a platitude. So... I’ll be honest. Things... things are going to get a_ lot _worse before they get any better. This is a war. We’ve only just begun, and before this is all through, we’ll all be up to our elbows in blood, Equestrians and Academics alike.”_  Scholar lowered his glasses and shook his head slowly. _“I... I’m sorry.”_

Iron Will grunted and nodded somberly. “Iron... Iron Will understands... it’s not your fault. It’s... just how things are...”

Scholar was silent for a moment before speaking.  _“Iron Will... I can guess what you’re thinking about. What you’re worrying about.”_

“Hm?” Iron Will grunted noncommittally.

_“You’re afraid you’re going to fail.”_

That caused Iron Will’s head to snap up, his eyes filled with honest shock.

_“You’re afraid that you’re going to falter, or stumble, or just wind up being flat out not strong enough, either physically or mentally.”_  Scholar forged on.  _“You’re afraid that when push comes to shove, you’re going to buckle and everyone around you will suffer for it as a result. Iron Will, let me be clear on this:_ That is not happening.  _Not today, not tomorrow, not ever. You will not break. I know with a vengeance that you are_ not _going to give up or give in. I’m certain of it.”_

Iron Will opened and closed his mouth wordlessly. “H...how?” He breathed.

Scholar fell silent as he bowed his head, his glasses glinting idly.

**“LEFT FLANK! LEFT FLANK!”**

**“They’re trying to go for a pincer maneuver! Fall back, fall back!”**

**“Sir, the front lines have been overrun!”**

**“Damn it! Alright, get orders to the third division, tell them to reroute towards the east. We’ll turn this on them, catch them between the third, first and fifth. Then-!”**

**“SIR! THE ENEMY CHARGE HAS BEEN BROKEN!”**

**“** _**What!?** _ **I thought you said the front lines were-!”**

**“Chief Minos is still alive! He’s taking them all on singlehanded!”**

**“Son of a-! I WANT ALL FORCES CONVERGING ON THAT OLD BULL, RIGHT GODDAMN NOW!** _**FULL FRONTAL ASSAULT! GO GO GO!”** _

**“SIR YES SIR!”**

Scholar shook his head as he came out of the memory.  _“Empirical evidence. Way back when, during our heyday, while Concordia was still young and the more hostile remaining nations were taking potshots at us, we won a battle known as the Battle of the Red Plains. The fact of the matter is... we had no_ right _winning that battle. We were outmanned, out-supplied, almost outmaneuvered... and we still managed to succeed. All thanks to one stubborn bull too headstrong to die and too obstinate to even consider surrendering. That was the day I became aware of it.”_

Scholar allowed a small smile to show out of his hood.  _“Defiance is an all but genetic trait of the minotaur species. It’s not one-hundred percent, it can skip a person every once in awhile, sure... but when it’s there, you_ know _that it’s there. Iron Will, I’ve seen more than enough of you to tell you with certainty that you have the signature will of the minotaurs.”_

He held up a hand.  _“Now, there will be times where you’ll flinch. Times when you’ll strain and hesitate, and even times where you bend. I expect that. And I trust that every time, you won’t break. You won’t shatter. Instead, you’ll come back ten times stronger as a result. I trust that when push comes to shove, when the hammer meets the anvil, I’ll be able to trust_ you.  _And why shouldn’t I? After all...”_  His grin widened as he folded his arms behind his head.  _“Your name suits you perfectly.”_

Iron Will gaped at Scholar wordlessly for a few seconds before slowly grinning. “...thank you, Scholar.”

_“Not a problem. Now... I have a mission for you:_ Relax. _Lay back, get some rest. I want the guy who I’m trusting my back to to be fully back on his game by tomorrow. Capiche?”_

Iron Will nodded. “Capiche. So... see you tomorrow?”

_“If it’s a second sooner than twenty-four hours, I’ll charge you with insubordination.”_  And with that, the image dissipated.

Iron Will took a deep breath, in and out, his shoulders slumping as tension he’d forgotten he’d had flowed out. He eyed his armor, in need of some repair work and a good cleaning, before mentally shrugging. The armor could wait.

Instead, the minotaur simply leaned back and stared at the horizon, watching as a certain pacifistic pegasus played with the local fauna and finding shapes in the white fluff of the far-off clouds.

Pretty soon, Iron Will’s mind was serenely drifting along, as peaceful as his surroundings.

 

**-o-**

 

“- thank  _you_ , darling. You can be quite sure that the next time I need gem polish, I’ll buy from you! Ta ta!”

Waving the crystal pony goodbye, Rarity allowed herself a quiet squeal of joy. So many ideas! Already, she could picture an entire line of new accessories utilizing the absolutely  _incredible_ gem and crystal work she had seen many of the crystalline citizens wearing. And that wasn’t even  _mentioning_  their radiant bodies themselves. The sheer flood of creative ingenuity was... there were simply no words that could describe it!

Currently, the fashionista found herself rubbing shoulders with Vitrum’s upper-class, courtesy of an invitation from a sufficiently impressed well-to-do stallion she’d met an hour back. It wasn’t anything extravagant, just a calm little soiree, a quiet celebration of victory and freedom.

The event was being held upon an extensively decorated veranda situated on the edge of one of the chasms that formed the Subarchives. Rarity had to admit, as daunting as the drop might appear, it was most definitely majestic in every sense of the word.

The ponies she was interacting with matched that description to a T. What they lacked in the pomp and circumstance of Canterlot’s nobility, they made up for with the innate feeling of honest power they seemed to exude. It was as if they knew they were nobility, and felt no need for the displays the Canterlotians preferred. Honestly, they almost made the nobility seem insecure by comparison.

And so  _polite!_  Well, to be fair, there had been more than a few party-goers who had given her varying degrees of the cold shoulder, but apart from them the rest of the opulent ponies were very welcoming, eager to hear about how fashion and customs had changed in the past millennium.

Rarity shook her head and smiled as she exited from her thoughts and started seeking out another target of fashion to speak with. Her smile widened as she caught sight of a pegasus mare whose  _exquisite_  mane was done up in a flawless bun thanks to a pair of ornate crimson pins.

“Excuse me!” She simpered, tossing her mane as she trotted up to the crystalline pony. “Pardon me, but I couldn’t  _help_  but notice those _exquisite_  hairpins you’re sporting! Could you tell me where you acquired them?”

The mare beamed at the praise. “Why, I’ll have you know that I made them myself!”

Rarity gasped in awe. “Oh my! How incredible!” She extended her hoof in greeting. “I’m Rarity! A pleasure to meet such a pleasantly fashion-oriented pony!”

The pegasus giggled and shaked her hoof. “Garnet Orb! A pleasure as well,  _especially_  considering your luxurious mane-do! Did you style it yourself, or-EEP!” Garnet suddenly cut herself off as she stared up at something behind Rarity. And  _above_  her, if the angle of Garnet’s head was anything to go by.

Rarity blinked in confusion before looking over her shoulder. She paled when she saw the hem of a furry dress, and paled further as she looked up and up at a grim-set face with yellow eyes and horn-lined eyebrows, all framed by snowy white hair.

“W-Why, hello! L-lady Priscilla was it?” Rarity stammered out nervously, slapping on High Society Grin #32: ‘I know I’m going down, but I might as well go down  _fabulous!’_

The tall artificial being cocked an eyebrow at the panicked unicorn. “Indeed.” She then smiled lightly as she turned her attention to the pegasus next to her. “Garnet. I am glad to see you well. I trust that you have found all your affairs to be in order?”

Garnet Orb immediately smiled gratefully. “Yes, but thank you for your concern. An uncomfortable number of my employees were injured in the battle, but with any luck my business should be able to return to operation by tomorrow. Apart from that, the majority of my and most everyone else’s assets were perfectly preserved in the Archives and elsewhere. For that, you have my thanks.”

Priscilla shrugged, but smiled nonetheless. “The credit deserves to go to my father for his research into preservation magics, but your thanks are appreciated nevertheless. I eagerly await the return of your business. Armaments will be a valuable commodity in the coming days, your specialized ceramics most of all.”

Garnet smiled openly as she ran a hoof over her hairpins. “Thank you for the compliment, milady. So!” She gestured at the ongoing event. “Are you here to partake in the festivities? I’m certain that there are more than a few entrepreneurs present who would like to speak business with someone of sufficient authority.”

The tall woman sighed melancholically as she absentmindedly ran her fingers over the blade of her scythe. “I’m afraid I must decline. I was merely passing through on account of this being the most expeditious route to my abode. I have business awaiting me within.”

“Ah, I see.” The wealthy pegasus nodded in understanding. “A shame, truly a shame.”

“Er, excuse me?” Rarity spoke up, finally recovering her voice. “I don’t mean to be rude, but... you live...” Rarity cast her gaze out over the abyss that lay past the veranda’s balustrade. “Down there? It’s just that it seems a bit... how shall I put this...”

“Unsightly?” Priscilla cocked an eyebrow, rotating her scythe’s shaft in her fingers.

“Ah, well, t-t-that’s not quite how  _I_  would put things...” The mare hastily denied. “Though I will admit that the view from up here is not terribly flattering.” She couldn’t help but add under her breath.

“I agree, the Subarchives  _are_  quite underwhelming at the moment due to maintenance being run on the thaumaturgical matrices incorporated into the structure.” Priscilla informed her absentmindedly as she stared at the void. “After all, it wouldn’t do to have them decay to the point where they release all their energy at once. We didn’t reclaim our home just to blow it sky high, after all.”

Rarity somehow managed to pale even as her cheeks flushed in embarrassment.

“Still...” Priscilla hummed, stroking her chin in thought. “Nevertheless, my home is a fair sight more impressive than the Archives as they are now. Especially considering...” She trailed off in thought.

Garnet ‘Ah’-ed in comprehension. “I see... so you’re going to...” She too trailed off as Priscilla nodded in agreement.

Rarity glanced between the two ancient individuals for a moment before clearing her throat and interjecting, “Excuse me, but I do not appreciate being left in the dark like this!  _What,_  precisely, are you referring to?”

Priscilla stared at Rarity blankly for a moment before heaving a sigh and shrugging. “I... suppose it would do no harm to show you some of what we have stored there. You might even find it to be...” She waved her hand slowly. “Culturally stimulating, if you will.” She tilted her head inquisitively. “Would you be interested in accompanying me to my residence?”

Rarity opened and closed her mouth slowly in shock before gathering her wits and coming to a conclusion. “I-I-I suppose... it would be my honor?”

Priscilla nodded in acceptance before directing an inquisitive look at Garnet. “And you?”

The pegasus waved her hoof in a negative manner. “I’m afraid not. This gathering of the not-so-nouveau riche is  _very_  important, you know, I can’t just up and leave!” Garnet suddenly grinned in a predatory manner as she caught sight of a blue Earth Pony on the other side of the room. “Now, if you ladies will excuse me, I need to remind a certain vendor of earthen supplies of the contractual obligations he holds! Wish me luck!”

And with that, she opened her wings and took off.

Priscilla hummed as she watched Garnet catch up to the Earth Pony. “I wish her well. It would not do for us to find issues within our economy at such a critical juncture...” She mused to herself before shrugging. “No matter. The matters of the nobility are ones that they shall sort out themselves. For now...” She swept around and started to stride towards one of the exits. “Come. Let us be off.”

Rarity adopted a swift trot in order to keep up with the Homunculus’ long stride as Priscilla went through the exit.

The archway opened up into another of the long halls that were apparently common in Vitrum, made of the same white crystal and lit by large arched windows that let in the light of the sun, scarce as it was. At the end of the hall Rarity could see a staircase, leading further down and into the depths of the cliff itself, presumably to the very heart of the Subarchives.

From the top of the stairs at the end of the hall she could see soft white light emanating from globes attached to the wall, and as the two got closer Rarity could see that they were made of a very thin, seemingly non-existent transparent crystal.

Bolstered by her thus far peaceful interaction, Rarity chose to speak up. “I’m curious...” She started, pointing her hoof up at one of the lights. “How do these globes emit light like they do? I highly doubt they use fire. After all, flames don’t emit this kind of light.”

Priscilla turned her body enough to cast a shocked look down at the unicorn. “The Princesses do not employ manaluxes? Not even in Canterlot?”

“Oh, is that what they’re called?” Rarity mused. “No, I’ve never seen anything like them, and I’ve been to the palace. I admit, I  _have_ heard Twilight ramble about more science-minded ponies working on some sort of electrical light source, and they sound somewhat similar, but those are  _years_ off, if they even work. Is that what these ‘manaluxes’ are?”

Priscilla frowned and shook her head, regaining her composure as she adopted a thoughtful expression. “So they restrict not simply the populace, but themselves as well? Why... an air of fairness, to prevent the line between classes from becoming too distinct? Or something simpler...”

She shook head lightly as she exited her thoughts. “Either way, no. Manaluxes are magical constructs that emit light and are conjured and kept stable by arrays carved within the walls. I know of the light sources to which you reference, and they rely on wires; manaluxes have no such physical component, and the crystal is merely an illusion in order to specify the area in which the magic is contained in order to prevent careless collision. When Concordia was still extant, they were the primary light source for almost all buildings in arcane-centric territories.”

Rarity gaped up at the draconic woman as she attempted to process the explanation and the implications that it held. The mare tried to formulate a response, tried to find where to even  _begin_... and realized with a sinking feeling that, in the end, she just  _couldn’t._  

It wasn’t that Rarity was a simpleton, far from it, it was just that her intellectual skills weren’t suited for the task at hand, being focused on an entirely different subject. She couldn’t analyze the information, she couldn’t infer any earth-shattering implications, she couldn’t ask the right questions.

The best she could do at the moment was file away the explanation and Priscilla’s musings with a heavy heart and plan on presenting them to Twilight at a later date.

Rarity then put her actual skills to use by putting on a convincingly winning smile and nodding in pseudo-understanding. “Well, I must say, it’s  _quite_  impressive how well you’ve managed to  integrate them into the architecture. You would not believe how many light fixtures I’ve seen where it looked like somebody just decided to pick a spot at random and sloppily hammer it in!”

To her surprise, Priscilla nodded in seeming agreement. “Yes, I know what you mean. The construction of Vitrum was before my time, but I have heard the stories from my father. He rarely recounts the apparent hell it was to get everyone to cooperate without being sufficiently inebriated.”

Rarity’s smile became more natural as it took on an eager tone. “Oh,  _do_  tell!”

And so the conversation went, drifting through idle topics as the pair descended deeper and deeper into the repositories of knowledge, occasionally turning this way and that at Priscilla’s discretion.

As they walked, the architecture gradually shifted around them. Arches and buttresses lost their air of nobility, instead taking on a rune-laden sense of security. Intersections and off-shoot paths became rarer and rarer, replaced with long-reaching corridors and walls lined with firm, unyielding doors. And had either of the two looked up, they would have seen the ceiling looming higher and higher.

Finally, Rarity stopped when Priscilla came to a sudden halt. “Oh? Are we there no-ho-how-!” Whatever she had to say died off in her throat as she stared up and up and up at the fantastic sight before her.

Without her noticing, Priscilla had led them into one of the doors that had been lining the hall. Said door had opened up into a grand room of very similar aesthetics to the prior halls, but on a far greater scale. Two facts stuck out about the room like a sore hoof: First, it was almost absolutely empty. Nothing, not a  _thing,_  be it a mote of dust or a worn table and chair or even a stray hair besmirched the well-polished crystal.

Second, the room wasn’t  _completely_  empty. There, hanging on the wall opposite the door, was a painting.

But what a painting. The most immediately eye-catching attribute was its sheer scale. Exquisitely framed within a sturdy seal of crystal with a clear screen over it, the piece was nearly two or three dozen feet across, no question, and well over a hundred feet tall, nearly brushing the room’s impressive ceiling. And that was to say nothing of the scene the painting depicted. Although it was rendered in monochrome, the simple color palette did not do anything to harm the painting’s beauty. If anything, the contrast of black and white served to accentuate the beauty of the grand, sweeping panorama held within the portrait.

Rarity wasn’t overly familiar with the architecture of castles; they were rather rare in Equestria, after all, and she was fairly certain Canterlot Castle wasn’t representative of all the myriad architectural styles that had been created over centuries of castle building. Still, the difference between the fortress portrayed in the painting and Canterlot Castle was, quite literally, like night and day. Looming in the background atop a rocky, craggy peak, this castle did not look like bright, inviting Canterlot. Squat, grey, studded with slits Rarity had a sneaking suspicion she knew what for, and by the seams in its stone construction completely unpainted, it looked simply  _mean_. And though it should have offended all of Rarity’s aesthetic sensibilities, it had a certain brute charm to it, a beauty of purpose. It declared that it was there, and that it was going to stay there, and damn any attempt to dislodge it.  

Still, the castle and its peak were only part of the painting. The foreground was dominated by a battered-looking rope bridge, of the exact kind found in Daring Do novels that broke at the most appropriately dramatic time. At the other end a dirt footpath led into a dark forest, dominated by snowcapped evergreens that looked about as inviting as the Everfree. On the whole, it was a bleak and desolate landscape, but beautiful in its solitude and simplicity.

And the details! Rarity could hardly believe it had been  _painted_ , it was so precise and fine. She shivered involuntarily,  _feeling_ the biting cold that had to blanket the landscape in front of her. Though, that wasn’t the only reason she was shivering.

“My  _word_ , it’s absolutely frigid in here!” Rarity snapped out of her awe as she came to terms with the vault’s - for that was what the room was - glacial atmosphere.

“But of course.” Priscilla swept across the floor to the painting, absolutely undeterred and perhaps even a little  _relaxed_  by the temperature. “After all, it would not do for me to allow my abode’s paints to run, no?”

Rarity waved her hoof dismissively. “Well of course, that goes without-GRK!” She froze suddenly, her eyes slowly widening as her mind caught up with Priscilla’s words. “Wait... your-?”

Priscilla smiled fondly as she gestured at the masterpiece. “Allow me to present to you the Painted World of Ariamis.”

Rarity worked her jaw fruitlessly for a number of seconds until she managed to reclaim a piece of her wits and slowly trot forwards. “P-painted-! Surely you don’t mean...?”

The giant woman’s smile became all the more proud as she lightly brushed her fingers over the canvas. The painting rippled around her digits like a pool of water. “Its name is indeed accurate in every form.” She slowly pushed her hand into the painting. “I did invite you to my residence, did I not?” She extended her other hand towards the mare.

Rarity fumbled helplessly for a second before swallowing her nervousness and hesitantly grasping the proffered hand with one of her forehooves. Nodding, Priscilla stepped into the painting as if through a curtain of water. Rarity had no time to even try to avoid being carried in with her, passing through the barrier with a sensation not unlike stepping through a spider’s web, largely due to the wall of snow that greeted her as she came through the film.

“Ack! Pfeaugh! Is the weather in here always like this?” Rarity called - not yelled, heaven’s no! - over the heavy wind blowing snow in her face. Oh, her mane was going to be ruined! That windswept look was Rainbow Dash’s, or Twilight after making her own choices at the spa, not hers!

Priscilla hummed contentedly as she ran her hands over her arms. “But of course. This is the ideal temperature for our purposes. And besides, in my opinion, this temperature is quite pleasant.”

Rarity sputtered indignantly as she swept the snow from her eyes. “Well of course  _you_  would, you’re wearing what I  _pray_  is a fake... fur...” She trailed off as she stared up at the castle before her. It was even more imposing in real life, as even to Rarity’s decidedly non-military mind it clearly had an absolutely commanding view of the entire area for miles in every direction.

Every direction... including straight down.

“EEEEEEK!”

“... Miss Rarity, I assure you that the state of this bridge is simply due to my aesthetic preferences. It is structurally sound, I promise. Now, if you would please stop strangling my leg?”

“Not until we’re back on solid ground!”

A weary sigh. “Fair enough...”

After a few minutes, Rarity collapsed onto the frigid stone steps with relief. “Never again!” She hissed.

“The only other exit is by dropping from the ramparts of the tower.”

Rarity’s eyes snapped open, ablaze with fury.  _“Sadist!”_  

Priscilla shrugged as she started to climb the steps. “An occupational hazard often made inconsequential by a host of viable targets. What of it?”

Rarity grumbled darkly as she hauled herself to her hooves and followed behind the dual-blooded Homunculus, ascending the stairway to the entrance of the looming fortress. It was only upon cresting the steps that a thought struck her. “Priscilla...” She started slowly. “I do believe it’s time you elucidated our reason for being here...”

Priscilla gave Rarity a morose, searching look before gesturing at the gates and letting out a flurry of runes, causing them to slowly begin to grind open. “The greatest treasures in all of Concordia. Safeguarded by me for the duration of my imprisonment.”

Rarity tilted her head in order to catch sight of what lay through the gates as soon as possible, but the instant she did, her heart nearly stopped.

It was... an art gallery.

Or, perhaps more accurately,  _the_  art gallery. Sure, she had been to art galleries where the up-and-coming of Equestria’s art scene demonstrated their work. She had been to art museums in Canterlot and Manehatten celebrating the greatest works Equestrian artists had produced. All of them collectively paled in comparison to the collection now arrayed in front of her. Paintings, sculptures, photographs, calligraphy, glass; every kind of visual art imaginable, in dozens of styles familiar and entirely unknown; and all exquisite masterpieces of the kind that sold for millions of bits at art auctions, that were protected by the most advanced security measures in museums. And that was just the first corridor!

Rarity scanned the paintings in numb, open-mouthed shock, before suddenly shooting to her hooves and dashing for one particular painting. A broad, sweeping portrait depicting two individuals, a wolf with a minotaur’s stature and an equally statuesque figure composed entirely of wood, both wearing armor, both with solemn expressions and both firmly clasping each other’s forearms.

“The Peace of Blackthorn Knoll.”

Rarity jumped as Priscilla’s wistful voice drifted from behind her. Looking up, she took note of the giant woman’s nostalgic expression.

“Rendered by the good sir White Tail.” She went on with a sigh. “Those were hard times. We truly feared that the Lupen and the Arboreal populaces would return to war once again.”

Rarity shivered lightly as she stared at the array of artwork. “This... how?” Was all she could manage.

Priscilla’s expression soured visibly as she turned sharply and began to march down the hall, followed closely by a shocked Rarity. “Your ‘Princesses’...” She said solemnly, her voice as cold as the air around them. “As much as I and most Concordians currently loathe them... I cannot truly describe them as evil. Not after this. Every time they sealed away a populace, they did not allow their armies to ravage or ransack or run rampant. They were careful. Methodical. They preserved as much as they could. What art they could safeguard, they brought to Vitrum and sealed it alongside me for safekeeping.” She shook her head solemnly. “An evil person would have eradicated these masterpieces wholesale. This... this is worse.”

“How so?” Rarity asked slowly.

“Because this shows that they had not changed at all. That even after all that occurred they were still the individuals I respected and admired and followed and...” Priscilla waved her hand helplessly before sighing. “And considered my friends. And  _that_  will make this entire endeavor all the more complicated...”

Before Rarity could respond, the pair emerged onto a plaza and she was forced to a halt. She stared at the grand edifice erected before her in unmitigated awe. “This... this is...” She breathed.

Priscilla’s mood lightened instantly. “I consider this to be the Painted World’s center piece...” She breathed. “The Moment of Truth. Depicting what is widely considered to be the true birth of the Oligarchs.”

 

~~~

 

**Scholar knelt forwards and rested his forearm on his knee, staring out over the edge of the cliff. “That’s a** _**lot** _ **of fire demons. Remind me again, why do they want us all dead?”**

**“Well, let’s see...” Chrysalis stepped up to his left, one chitinous hoof raised as she smirked viciously. “They’re sadistic, they’re psychopaths, they’re bloodthirsty, we’re in their way, so on and so forth. Take your pick. In the end, does it really matter? After all, they’re nothing more than a legion of mindless brutes.”**

**“Hmph.” Celestia flared her wings as she stood next to the Queen, an equally cocky expression on her muzzle. “You’d think they’d get along with you, at least. If opposites attract, I suppose the flip side must be true as well.”**

**Luna ignored her sister’s antics in favor of raising her nose at the army below. “‘Tis of no consequence. The battle shall be difficult, but we will succeed. It’s, quite simply,  inevitable.”**

**Cadance nodded in agreement and smiled pleasantly as she flanked the Lunar Mare. “If you could employ some form of caution, I’d appreciate it. Ichor is** _**hell** _ **to wash out of my mane.”**

**Minos snorted harshly as he swung his battleaxe up onto his shoulder and towered over Scholar’s right. “I’ll break their lines on the eastern front. Serpense, can you take the south?”**

**The hydra’s many heads swayed and whipped about to and fro as they sported equally vicious and fang-filled grins. “With ease!” “I’ll use the river that runs through the plains!” “Or rather...” “The river that’ll** _**be** _ **running through there once I’m through with it!”**

**“Do try not to be** _**too** _ **cocky...” Solum Nox moaned, crossing his arms flatly. “As tempting as it would be to collect on your contracts, I fear that I will be too occupied to collect on your dues in the midst of combat.”**

**A synchronized trio of booming laughs erupted from three figures who were floating behind the party upon a large storm cloud. Each member of the group was massive in their own right, an adonis with rippling muscles and bare chests. Each of their heads was obscured by a helmet of gray steel whose sole opening was a single lens situated in the middle of their forehead.**

**The middle-sized member of the trio, whose hands were wrapped in blackened chains, chuckled as he cracked his knuckles. “Your opinion is as amusing as always, Nox!”**

**The largest, who was toting a ridiculously massive sledgehammer, swung it over his shoulders and pulled the shaft against his neck with both hands. “But have no fear, we are confident in our survival.”**

**The smallest, whose helmet was more elaborate than his brothers’ and sported a multi-layer lens within the inner workings, fiddled with the mechanisms, causing the glass discs within to click and rearrange and refocus. “Either way, we will concentrate on making the sky untenable. Any objections?”**

**Daemos let loose a jaw-cracking yawn as he slowly crawled to his claws, raising his head proudly and spread inghis wings to the fullest of their massive span. “Just avoid striking me or others and I shall be perfectly content.”**

**“Enough prattle!” Discord cackled as he snapped into existence, standing atop Celestia’s back, one foot firmly planted on her rear and the other on the back of her neck. A tan military jacket festooned with medals and a metal military helmet adorned his twisted body. A cavalry saber in his claws rounded out the ensemble. “Come on, gallop closer!” He cried enthusiastically as he swung the weapon about wildly, “I want to hit them with my sword!”**

**Scholar’s grin widened beneath his hood as his robes lit up with vicious runes.**

**“Well then... let’s get to it.”**

 

**~~~**

 

Celestia sighed sadly as she ran her hoof down the photograph she was holding.

It was… always painful to look at this photo. Any photo from back then, really. To remember the better times, when they had all stood together in camaraderie and friendship. No guilt, no nostalgia.

She wished she could bring those times back.

But those times were never going to come back.

She contemplated burning the thing, as she always did when she looked at it. For a few seconds, she simply stared at it, the spell ready to be cast. And, like always, she tucked it back in the box and magically sealed it again. This was no time for pointless regrets.

Celestia steeled her nerves as she slipped the gut-wrenching memory back into its hidden position in her desk before clearing her throat.

“Private?”

The door to her office cracked open as one of her soldiers poked his head in inquiringly. “Yes, Princess?”

“Send for General Pilum. I require his presence immediately.”

“At once, Princess.”


	26. Chapter 26. Rowdy Discussions

“Aw, yeah!” Rainbow Dash cried out, slamming her now-empty mug of cider on the worn table in front of her, the changeling that had challenged her slumping to the floor. “And that’s why you don’t challenge Rainbow Danger Dash if you don’t want to lose! At anything!”

The surrounding crowd let out a hearty combination of cheers and jeers as the assorted ponies and changelings waved their mugs, bottles and hooves in the air.

The tavern Rainbow Dash was in had attracted her the moment she saw it. After all, in a city made mostly of crystal, a humble wooden building stood out like the oases of the Saddle Arabian deserts. The interior was decorated in dark oak, smelled faintly of whiskey and smoke, and was filled with tables and chairs worn with use but also lovingly maintained.

And above all, cider.  Very good cider at a maximum discount thanks to the ongoing party.

Sure, she’d gotten a mixed reception upon her arrival, more cold shoulders than warm. But she didn’t let that stop her from challenging the first pony to insult her.

The patrons had started to warm up a bit to her after her third conquest, and her fourth just now only helped to cement matters.

Rainbow cackled lightly as another round of cider was delivered to her table, snatching it up in her hooves and waving it in the air. “So, who else wants to get their flank kicked? Or are you all too  _turkey-winged_  to actually do anything?”

She chuckled at the renewed round of calls as she knocked back the frothing mug...

“I think I might take you up on that offer.”

And barely managed to actually swallow the drink instead of spray it all over the table when an all too familiar voice spoke up behind her. Rainbow whirled around to see Gilda standing just behind her, looming above with her wings half-spread, her armor glinting menacingly, and her gaze hidden behind the glare of her goggles.

 “Except!” She continued flatly. “That it’ll end with  _your_ flank kicked.”

As she started to prowl around the edge of the table, the griffon’s beak twisted into a smirk.  “By the way...” She taunted. “I could’ve _sworn_  that your middle name was actually Mi-”

“Finish that sentence and I’ll use your beak to hammer in every rusty nail in this bar.” Rainbow snarled, though with only three-quarters of the heart she usually put into stuff like this.

Gilda’s smirk dropped into a scowl as she herself sank into the chair opposite the pegasus.

The tavern fell silent as the crowd of onlookers eagerly watched the tense conflict between the two wills, sparks seeming to fly in the air between them.

Finally, Gilda raised her talons and snapped them.

One of the barkeeps dashed up to the table, slid a pair of mugs he’d been carrying in front of the duelists, and darted back in an instant.

Gilda and Rainbow both grabbed a mug without looking, their eyes never wavering from their locked gazes until they knocked their heads back and drained every drop they could. The last drop had barely made it down their throats when they rammed their mugs back down on the wood simultaneously.

“Another.” Gilda grunted.

The empty mugs were replaced with full ones, and they too were emptied and slammed with equal fervor.

“Another.” Rainbow huffed.

Another pair of mugs, another nigh-instant slam.

“Another!” They both roared, causing the barkeep to almost stumble and drop the drinks in his haste to appease them.

And so it went, their conflict dragging on for uncountable minutes and almost a dozen mugs between them.

Ultimately, though, the silence could not last forever.

“So.” Rainbow Dash spoke up blandly as they waited for their next drinks. “Yell at any mares just minding their own business lately?”

Gilda snarled into her drink as she swallowed the cider before nearly cracking the mug in two as she rammed it onto the table. “My _humblest_  of apologies,  _milady,”_  She sneered with as much condescension as physically possible. “I wasn’t quite myself that day on account of being  _royally_  ticked off by the bureaucratic shithive that you graciously call a customs bureau, and the way your  _humble_  guards chose to glare at me like I was going to eat them alive.”

She slammed the mug down,  _actually_  cracking this one. “So yeah.” She drew her beak back in a furious snarl. “My temper was a little short that day. I  _beg_  milady’s pardon for the inconvenience.”

Rainbow’s wings flared slightly, but froze as she hammered her temper down. “So you got a bad bureau, so what!? It happens, Twilight’s shared some of the horror stories she has about bureaucracy. That still doesn’t excuse you yelling at Fluttershy!”

Gilda let out a bark of harsh laughter. “Beggin’ milady’s pardon, but you don’t know  _jack shit_  about what it’s like to be a griffon living in a pony world.”

“Stop calling me that...” The pegasus growled.

“Hm?” Gilda tilted her head in faux innocence. “To what does milady-?”

“I said stop calling me that!” Rainbow snapped.

“Why?” Gilda demanded. “I thought milady’s people  _liked_  it when their lessers showed them  _proper_  respect. After all, that’s how it’s done back in Loondon! Hell!” She spread her arms wide. “It’s how it’s done in all of Eagleland, if not the entire Aeolus-damned world!”

“Ponies aren’t like that!” Rainbow Dash shouted, ramming her forehooves on the table and nearly upending her forgotten cider. “Nobody would let a pony act like that, Princess Celestia wouldn’t-!”

“Your pasty-assed  _Princess!”_  Gilda roared, leaping to her paws and clawing into the table as she leaned over it to glare at Rainbow Dash. “Hasn’t been seen outside of Equestria and has barely, if ever, left her gods-be-damned  _Canterlot_   _for the past millennium!_  She’s been so focused on protecting her  _precious little ponies_  from the rest of the big scary world that she hasn’t bothered to protect the world from her ponies!”

Gilda’s claws started to cleave furrows in the wood of the table as she curled them into fists, her rage mounting with every word. “Does your little yellow friend know just how many animals have been driven to extinction by your farms and cities? Does the bookworm know how many cultures collapsed under that stupid scourge you call harmony? Does the prissy pisspot know just how much art has been lost, either to harmony or the flames? And if that spat between the farmer’s family and the Buffaloes was an isolated incident and they all ended half as well, I’ll eat my wind-damned wings!”

The table shook and let out an alarming groan as Gilda pounded one of her fists on it. “The only damn reason why I don’t say it’s all happened on Celestia’s watch is that that fucking nag hasn’t been watching anything, period!” She spat. “She betrayed her duties as an Oligarch, and she’s  _failed_  as a ruler!  _Miserably!”_

“CELESTIA IS A GREAT PRINCESS!” Rainbow Dash screamed furiously, her wings snapping open in outrage. “She’s  _protected_  us! She’s protected us ponies, and the mules, and the donkeys, and even the horses! She’s been kind! She’s been peaceful! She’s a better ruler than anyone! Better than that flank-ugly bug of a nag you call a queen and better than that pasty, scaleless  _freak_  of a-!” She suddenly cut herself off as her mind caught up with the words coming from her mouth. “A... I, ah...”

Slowly, she cast her gaze over the now-silent bar. Sure, the place had fallen silent while she and Gilda were arguing, but that had been a silence of hushed anticipation. But now... this silence was tense. Furious. A fact emphasized by the smoldering glares the majority of the changelings and crystal ponies were throwing at her.

Gilda let out a tired groan as she rubbed beneath her goggles. “Zeus  _damn it,_  Dash...”

Rainbow Dash swallowed heavily as she warily took in the crowd. “Ah...”

**BANG!**

She then nearly jumped out of her skin and feathers when an extremely heavy-set and well-armored Crystal Earth Pony slammed his forehooves, one of which was holding onto a mostly-full bottle, onto the table next to her.

“Wut did y’jus’ say?” The pony growled lowly, the slur in his voice speaking volumes about how inebriated he was.

“Ah- I-I-I...” Rainbow Dash stuttered helplessly as the relatively massive equine loomed over her menacingly.  _‘Celestia’s glorious white ass! What the buck do they feed these guys, other ponies!?’_ ’ “L-look-!”

She was cut off by the pony dropping his empty hoof on her shoulder,  _hard._

“‘Cuz y’see...” He growled, leaning in close enough that she could smell the booze on his breath. “It  _sounded_  lahk y’jus’ insulted th’ good Duke Seath. Y’didn  _actually_  do thaaat, did ya?”

“List-GRK!” Rainbow Dash hissed in panic as the pressure on her shoulder increased, effectively pinning her in her seat. It wasn’t enough force to actually  _break_  anything, but as an athlete and... ‘experienced technician of hard landings’, Rainbow Dash knew  _exactly_  what was the limit on how much punishment her body could take. It was a limit the Earth Pony was approaching at an alarming rate.

“‘Cuz  _y’see...”_ The Earth Pony repeated, this time with a lot more vitriol in his voice. “We citzens o’ Vitrum? We  _like_  th’ good Duke. E’s been kind to us, bene- ben- nice-like. A great guv’ner. And ‘cuz ‘e’s such a great guv’ner, well...”

The pressure from the hoof became ever more dangerous, and a few hints of magic began to spark up the pony’s leg.

“We don take t’ kindly to folks up and insultin’ the man- drak- drag’n- wutever. ‘Specially not trech- treacherous, cod- coddled,  _weak-boned, soft-hoofed_   _pieces of manure like you! ISN’T THAT RIGHT BOYS!?”_  The stallion’s speech had become considerably more coherent in the middle of his rant as his helmet slowly lit up with an array of engraved runes, culminating in the honestly, not just drunkenly, furious roar he directed at the crowd of patrons.

Despite her usual swagger and confidence, Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but quail before the might of the nigh unanimous bellow of approval that answered the soldier.

“So...” The Earth Pony snorted darkly as he glared down at her. “I’m going to ask you again...” He leaned in close, their muzzles inches from one another. “What. Did you. Say.”

Rainbow Dash shook in her seat as she searched for an answer that wouldn’t land her in an even deeper mess. She slowly opened her mouth...

“Hey, buddy.”

And promptly shut it with a click as a talon tapped the stallion on his pauldron.

The soldier cast an annoyed look at Gilda. “What the hell do you-?”

“Mind if I borrow that for a sec?” Gilda jabbed her thumb at the bottle the Earth Pony was holding. Without waiting for an answer, she grabbed it out of his hoof and up-ended it, draining its contents into her beak. The stallion made to say something, but she silenced him with a single raised talon.

Finally, once the bottle was empty, Gilda swung her head down and let out a massive breath. “ _Wow,_  that was some good whiskey... Now then.”

She then flipped her grip on the bottle and  _rammed_ it across the stallion’s skull with a meaty thunk, knocking the pony flat on his ass.

The bar became even quieter than before as the patrons stared at Gilda in dumbfounded shock.

Gilda raised her eyebrow as she gave the bottle she was clutching an appreciative glance. “Huh. Strong stuff. Neat. Anyways...” She tossed the bottle over her shoulder, knelt down and grabbed the heavily dazed Earth Pony by the front of his breastplate, hauling him in close to her snarling beak.

“Let’s make one thing clear here, mud-horse.” Gilda growled. “ _I’m_  the only person in this dump that’s allowed to beat that nag’s rump black and blue, and don’t you forget it.”

And with that, she switched her grip to his helmet and slammed the pony’s skull into the floorboards,  _hard._  The stallion gave a final pained groan before allowing himself to slump onto his side in a boneless heap.

Gilda slowly cracked her neck as she rose to her feet, calmly observing the dumbfounded crowd that was staring at her. She then widened her stance, flared her wings, spread her talons and  _roared._  “ANYONE  _ELSE_  WANNA MESS WITH ME!?” She bellowed furiously.

A moment of stunned silence. Then...

Gilda blinked in surprise as she was answered by a cacophony of screeching chairs, the vast majority of the bar rising to their hooves and taking to the air, magic flaring and weapons singing as the patrons attempted to immolate her with their gazes.

“Well shit...” The griffon tsked under her breath as she fell into a more combat-ready stance, lightning starting to dance over her armor.

The bartender, his head whipping back and forth as if on a swivel, hastily discharged a burst of magic from his horn with a loud bang, attracting the attention of everyone in the bar. “Hold it! Just a moment!” He demanded.

Taking advantage of the momentary lull in hostilities, the Unicorn proceeded to rap his hoof on the bar three times in quick succession. In response, a multitude of lines ran out from the point of impact, running up and over almost every available surface there was to be had and through the air directly behind the bar itself. As soon as the glyphs ceased moving, they let loose a flash of energy before vanishing without a trace.

The bartender heaved a sigh of relief, wiping his forehead with his hoof. “That was close...” He then shrugged and waved his foreleg carelessly. “Alright, back to it, bounce her skull off the table or whatever it is you were planning.”

That was all the patrons needed, and the tavern erupted into a flurry of movement.

Gilda met the rush of foes with an equal amount of fervor, if not moreso. She lashed out with her talon, grabbing a changeling by his armor before he knew what was happening and swinging him around into an Earth Pony, sending both tumbling through a cluster of chairs and into the far wall. She then snapped both her wings out to their fullest extent with as much force as possible, catching a pair of Pegasi by surprise and striking them from the air, where they landed amongst their fellow fighters and added to the general madness of the situation.

Ducking under a blast of magic, Gilda snapped her talon out and sent a retaliatory bolt of lightning at the caster before pumping her wings once with enough force to launch her into the air, allowing her to pounce upon a Pegasus that had been attempting to divebomb her. Landing upon a table, she hurled the dazed flyer into an unfortunate pair of changelings. Catching sight of someone behind her in the periphery of her vision, she pumped a burst of energy into her tail and lashed out with it, an action that rewarded her with a yelp of pain.

Gilda swept her gaze over the rush of attackers that was swarming around her before hastily backstepping as an Earth Pony leapt onto the table alongside her and took a swipe at her with his hoof. She retaliated with a swift backhand and scowled as the blow went ignored. Thinking fast, Gilda snapped her claws twice and concentrated her magic between her talons.

_‘A bit more...’_  Gilda thought to herself as the charge built up in her gauntlet.  _‘A bit more...’_   Finally, she smirked victoriously.  _‘There.’_

She jabbed her talons forwards-

“LOOK OUT!”

And nearly lost hold of the lightning as a blur of blue shot through the air above her and rammed into a pegasus holding a chair that she had _sworn_  wasn’t there a few seconds ago. Gilda only just managed to catch herself and successfully blast the Earth Pony into a charred and unconscious heap before leaping off the table and onto three ponies.

Rainbow Dash scowled furiously as she landed, the chair-wielding pegasus planted face-first into the floor under her hooves.  _“Damn it,_  Gilda, you  _always_  do this!” She shouted. “Every time we get into a fight, you get so drawn in that you don’t notice the simplest bucking details!”

Rainbow Dash pumped her wings and rammed her shoulder into the jaw of a changeling. “Every!”

Another flap and she’d flipped herself in such a manner that her rear hooves cracked down on the back of a pegasus’s skull. “Single!”

A trio of flaps and she’d rammed her entire weight onto the back of an unprepared Earth Pony before taking off with equal force. “TIME!”

Gilda clacked her beak in exasperation as she grabbed a unicorn by his horn and barrel, lifted him above her head and flung him into the crowd. “Me!?” She demanded incredulously. “What about you!? All it takes is a single bottle of cider or ale or  _whatever_  and your tongue gets so loose that you always  _hang_  yourself with it! And every time you write a check you can’t cash, who saves your sorry hide? Oh, that’s right!” She stomped a paw on the face of an Earth Pony that had been trying to sneak up on her with another chair. “Me! And let me tell you, it is so!”

She tore through a ragged mixed line of ponies and changelings, knocking several away like  ragdolls as she stomped up to a table.

“Fucking!”

She grabbed the edge of the table.

“AGGRAVATING!” She roared, flipping the table up into the air.

Rainbow Dash barely managed to spin herself over the wooden projectile, allowing another pegasus to be creamed in her place. “Hey, watch where you’re throwing those things!” She demanded, absentmindedly ramming her elbow into the nose of a changeling.

“Oh, please  _forgive_  me, milady!” Gilda sneered, even going so far as to mock-curtsy under another blast of magic. “But in case you didn’t notice, we’re in the middle of a gods-be-damned bra-ARGH!” She was cut off by a bottle flying through the air and cracking against the side of her beak, prompting her to roar and unleash an omnidirectional blast of lightning. “ALRIGHT, WHO THE HELL THREW THAT!? I’M GOING TO PUMP YOU SO FULL OF LIGHTNING THAT YOU’LL SHIT CHARCOAL FOR A  _MONTH!”_

“STOP CALLING ME THAT!” Rainbow Dash screamed as she zipped from aerial enemy to enemy, outmaneuvering them and debilitating them in quick succession. “SWEET CELESTIA, IF YOU HATE PONIES SO MUCH, WHY WERE WE EVEN FRIENDS!?  _WERE_  WE EVEN FRIENDS, OR WAS THAT A LIE TOO!?”        

“OF COURSE WE WERE FRIENDS, YOU FEATHER-BRAINED IDIOT!” Gilda screeched, snatching a bottle from a Unicorn’s aura before slamming it across her muzzle in a spray of blood and teeth.

“ _THEN WHY!?”_  Rainbow Dash demanded.

_“BECAUSE I THOUGHT YOU WERE FUCKING DIFFERENT!”_  Gilda screeched, flapping her wings so that she was suddenly in Rainbow Dash’s face. “BECAUSE YOU NEVER LOOKED DOWN ON ME LIKE THOSE OTHER SHITS! BECAUSE YOU ALWAYS TREATED ME EQUALLY, LIKE I WAS FUCKING  _WORTH_  SOMETHING! BECAUSE YOU MADE ME FEEL FUCKING _WELCOME!_  LIKE I HAD A FUCKING  _FAMILY_  AGAIN!”

Rainbow Dash blinked stupidly, her mind trying to process what the griffon had just said. “Wha-WOAH!”

“SON OF A-!”

The duo were forced to hastily flap backwards when a chair sailed through the space they’d been occupying moments ago.

“Hey!” Gilda snarled in aggravation. “Do you fucking mind!? We were having a moment here!”

“Sorry! Don’t mind us!”

“Yeah, go ahead, we don’t mind!”

Gilda and Rainbow Dash blinked in surprise as they finally acknowledged the state the bar was in.

By and large, most of their attackers were outright unconscious, and those that weren’t were either too busy licking their wounds and crawling away to safety to try anything or off on the sidelines cowering or observing. As it stood, only two changelings remained ready to fight. Two symmetrical, well-armored and spear-wielding, very familiar smirking changelings.

“Rotfang? Lacewing!?” Gilda sputtered.

“What the buck are you two morons doing here!?” Rainbow Dash demanded.

“Uh, hello? Big-ass barfight? Why  _wouldn’t_  we be here!?” Rotfang cackled.

“But anyways, please, do go on!” Lacewing waved a hoof freely. “We’ll even go a little easy on ya, so you can continue talking while we fight.”

Rotfang cast a shocked look at his brother.

Lacewing rolled his eyes. “Not  _too_ easy, obviously.”

Rotfang’s smile returned with renewed vigor.

“Aaaanyways...” Lacewing’s smile mirrored his brother’s.

“ _Ready or not, here we come!”_  They chorused as they leapt at the pair, wings buzzing heavily.

Rainbow Dash barely withheld a curse as she batted away the tip of Lacewing’s weapon and started dodging left and right around the flurry of jabs the Changeling unleashed at her. “W-what did you mean? About me treating you equ-ACK!” She flinched as an unexpected twirl of the weapon brought its butt crashing down on her skull, to which she responded with a lightning-fast buck. “Equally?! Back in flight camp-!”

“Back in flight camp, I was lucky to get the time of day!” Gilda growled, lunging in an attempt to grab Rotfang as he danced around her, zipping from chair to upended table to what-have-you and sneaking in the occasional slash and thrust, which only served to irritate Gilda further. “It was always cold stares and whispers and ponies moving to the other side of whatever path I was on. And those were the _cordial_  reactions! I wasn’t welcome in Equestria, and everyone went out of their way to make sure I knew it!” A bolt of lightning and half a table gave Gilda enough breathing room to cast a look up at her old friend. “Everyone but you.”

Rainbow Dash gaped at her openly. “Wh-!” She bit her tongue and hastily looped out of the way of Lacewing’s charge, ramming a swift double-tap from her forehooves between his shoulders. “What are you talking about!? Why would  _anyone_  care about that?! I mean, come on! You’re an amazing flyer, you’re better at handling  _storms_  than most Pegasi I know-!”

“No one saw that!” Gilda snarled, grabbing Rotfang’s lance in the middle of a thrust and pumping a bolt of lightning into the shaft, an effort that proved to be in vain as the changeling countered with a stream of magic from his horn. “All they saw were my talons, my beak, the meat I ate for lunch, that I had to hunt myself! And even when they did see that, it just made things worse because then I was just showing them up! But you?” She chuckled sardonically. “You didn’t see ‘Gilda the Griffon’. You only ever saw ‘Gilda, the awesome flier who’s my friend’. Who cared if you were a pony, why the hell  _wouldn’t_  I want to be your friend?”

The griffon’s expression soured drastically, her smile slipping into a grimace. “Although... I guess that feeling isn’t mutual anymore, is it?”

“HEY!” Rainbow Dash snapped, dropping out of the air and hovering in front of Gilda’s face. “I didn’t-!”

“Move!” Gilda snapped, shoving Rainbow to the side and out of the way of a stab from Lacewing. Dash hastily recovered and returned the favor by kicking a swing Rotfang had aimed at Gilda’s back askew.

Rainbow huffed angrily as she flapped back to back with Gilda, parrying Rotfang with her hooves. “I didn’t  _care_  that you were a griffon, you idiot!” She snapped. “I cared because you were a royal  _jerk_  to my friends!”

Gilda grit her beak as she and Lacewing traded equal blasts of magic and lightning.  _“Fine,_ so I was a bit harsh with Klutz-!”

“I WILL PLANT MY HOOF  _SO FAR UP YOUR ASS, I SWEAR-!”_

_“Flutter_ shy!” Gilda amended, albeit semi-reluctantly. “But I’m not apologizing for the lame pink dweeb! She had it coming!”

“She was  _trying_  to be nice! She was trying to be your friend!”

“I WASN’T THERE FOR A ‘FRIEND’, DAMN IT!” Gilda roared, launching herself up towards the ceiling and slamming Lacewing out of the air with her mass before wheeling around to sneer down at Rainbow Dash. “I WAS ONLY IN THAT LAME TOWN FOR YOU!” She breathed heavily for a second before allowing herself to calm down. “Plus, some offence, but her attempts at being ‘nice’ sucked. I _definitely_  saw some hay in those cupcakes she was trying to give m-ACK!”

Gilda squawked in panic as Lacewing locked his legs around her wings, sending her crashing to the ground. He grinned as his horn slowly lit up...

CRACK!

Then went cross-eyed with pain as he was slammed headfirst into a barrier of runes just behind the bar, courtesy of a nigh transonic flying kick from Rainbow Dash.

The pegasus huffed heavily as she watched the changeling in order to confirm that he was definitely incapacitated. “Well... it really _wasn’t_  her best attempt at being someone’s friend, I’ll give you that...” She grumbled before landing next to Gilda. She hesitated a moment before proffering her hoof. “But I helped her set it up because I  _wanted_  it to work. Having two friends is pretty cool... but having those friends get along would have been cooler.”

Gilda stared at the hoof numbly for a few seconds before reaching out and taking it. “Twenty percent cooler?” She smirked.

Rainbow Dash returned the smile as she hauled Gilda to her talons and paws. “At  _minimum.”_

Slowly, the pair turned their gaze towards the last changeling standing.

Rotfang swallowed nervously as he shifted his grip on his spear. He cast a nervous look towards the bar. “Ah heh... a little help, brother?”

“Arghspblbr...” Lacewing slurred.

The bartender raised his eyebrow at the downed changeling before giving Rotfang a flat look. “Yer done, son.”

Rotfang’s eyes widened in panic. He snapped his attention back to the pair, but it was already too late. Before he could react, his spear was snatched from his forehooves, leaving him desperately flailing his forelegs in an attempt to balance on his hindlegs.

Rainbow Dash held the spear upside-down in her hooves and tightened her grip. She reared back...

CRACK!

And slammed the shaft across the back of Rotfang’s skull before he could react, sending him falling down...

Face first into Gilda’s waiting, lightning-charged knee.

A crack of bone and a sound not unlike meat sizzling rang out as Rotfang was flung spinning head over heels, ultimately landing on-

SMASH!

Correction,  _smashing through_  one of the last tables left standing.

Gilda and Rainbow Dash huffed and panted heavily as they watched the Changeling, guaranteeing that he was indeed down and out.

Finally, Gilda smirked triumphantly as she allowed herself to relax. “Geeze...” She sighed. “Remember the last time we got into a fight like this?”

Rainbow Dash snickered drunkenly as the memory played out in her head. “Supertrough XXXVII. We were in that old bar in Cloudsdale, the Rusty...”

“The Stormy Blizzard.” Gilda corrected smugly.

Rainbow Dash blew her off with a psh. “Anyways, I drank, said a few things...”

“You said that the Cloudsdale Colts were going to be picking the Trottingham Tornadoes’ horseshoes out of their own manure by the time they were through with them. In a bar where every other pegasus and then some was wearing  _red.”_

“Alright, so I said a lot of things!” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “To be fair, the Colts  _did_  win 48-21, half of which they got in garbage time _._ ”

Gilda snorted and rolled her eyes. “Long story short, they got pissed, I saved your ass,  _yes_  you saved mine,” She cut Rainbow Dash off. “A few times. And when we were through...”

“We were laughing and laughing in the Cloudsdale Keep’s lockup, I remember,” Rainbow Dash smiled.

Gilda allowed herself a moment to chuckle... before slowly becoming somber. “When did things change?” She asked quietly. “When did our lives become some... some fucked up teenage romance novel?”

Rainbow Dash bit her lip uneasily as she slowly shook her head. “I... I don’t know. It all happened so fast. Or... maybe it was just too slow...” She hung her head as she landed absentmindedly. “I wish things could just go back to the way they were...”

Gilda’s beak tightened as she clenched and unclenched her talons. Finally, after a minute... “The Academia’s modus operandi is to make the word impossible redundant, and the wildest dreams and wishes come true.” She whispered.

Rainbow Dash stared at her blankly for a moment. Then, her mouth dropped open and her eyes widened slowly in shocked understanding.

She made to say something,  _anything..._

But before she could, the bar started to light up with runes.

“Hey, what the-!?”

“Ah, keep your feathers on.” The bartender rolled his eyes as he pressed his hoof into the bar. “I’m just putting everything back in place.”

“What are you-OW!” Rainbow Dash yelped as she felt one of the bruises she’d accrued during the fight burn. She whipped her hoof to the spot and froze in shock when she felt nothing. She was even  _more_  shocked when all of the K.O.d fighters began to writhe and moan in pain and the bar’s fixtures repaired themselves, blood and teeth and wood and glass flying through the air and reaffixing themselves to their rightful positions. “What the  _heck?!”_

“You didn’t  _really_  think that we just try and kill each other at the drop of a hat, did you?” Lacewing groaned, shaking his head as he peeled himself from the bar.

“We use this kind of stuff in all the bars and training grounds. Not discriminate enough to use for actual fights though...” Rotfang groused as he rubbed the back of his head and the bottom of his jaw.

Dash and Gilda glanced at each other nervously as their foes picked themselves off the ground, and they slowly positioned themselves back to back.

Finally, all of the bar’s original patrons were back on their hooves, staring at the griffon and Pegasus with unreadable expressions.

“You managed to beat each and every last one of us.” Rotfang stated simply.

“There’s only one proper response to that.” Lacewing said firmly.

The twins crouched in a ready position…

And promptly fell on their faces, forelegs spread before them. “ALL HAIL THE QUEENS OF BRAWLING!”

“ALL HAIL THE QUEENS!” The rest of the crowd cheered.

Before either Dash or Gilda could react, the crowd swept them up and hoisted them upon a blanket of hooves and shoulders.

“Wha- hey!” Gilda protested as they were carried towards the door. “What the hell do you think you’re doing!?”

“We are placing our queens upon their thrones!” Lacewing chortled as he hovered above them.

“We shall then throw a feast in honor of your immense prowess at the art of smashing other’s faces in!” Rotfang guffawed. “There shall be much merriment, right guys?”

“ALL HAIL THE QUEENS! ALL HAIL THE QUEENS!”

Rainbow Dash and Gilda glanced at each other in a dumbfounded manner...

Then they started to smile.

“WOO! HAIL US, BABY!” Rainbow Dash waved her hooves in the air and laughed happily.

“Bring on the booze!” Gilda crowed. “Let’s eat, drink and  _party!”_

And so the merriment returned to the bar a thousandfold, and though the animosity was momentarily forgotten, the consequences would be felt for a long time to come.

 

**-o-**

 

A few blocks away, the dulcet tones of off-key and slightly drunken singing wafted over the partygoers sitting in a far calmer and more restrained tavern, where a mixed table of changelings and crystal ponies were belting out an enthusiastic, if not particularly skillful, rendition of a popular Concordian ballad, about a brave warrior overthrowing a conqueror and saving a princess.

Onlookers whooped and hollered, mugs in hoof and raised in the air, offering gasps of horror and amazement at the proper moments, and choking with laughter or groaning depending on the quality of the humor when it came.

Finally, applause filled the air as the impromptu chorus finished, flopping face first on the ground in their attempts to bow.

With that bout of entertainment over with, the patrons of the bar turned back to their drinks and their conversations. Everyone was in some sort of group, interacting with each other, stories and jokes and laughter merging into a comfortable sea of background noise.

In the end, though, the homely atmosphere did little to assuage Applejack’s dour mood.

The orange-colored farmer muttered sour, incoherent words into the mug of cider she was nursing as she sulked in a dark and lonely corner of the establishment.

She had entered the bar quietly about a half-hour ago, hat drawn down over her eyes in an effort to remain anonymous, and she’d maintained that anonymity from the second she’d grabbed a mug from the far end of the bar and seated herself at the most secluded and out-of-the-way table she could find.

Applejack glared silently at the varying partygoers, dark and acidic thoughts flitting through her head. Finally, her frustration reached a peak as a changeling happened to stagger just a  _bit_  too close to her in the midst of his drunken dancing.

Quicker than one might expect, Applejack reached out and snagged the insectoid equine, bringing his face very close to hers. “Tell that ugly varmint you an’ yers call a queen t’shake a leg an’ get down here right fast,” She growled venomously. “Otherwise, ah’m gonna start knockin’ every buggy ah can find for a loop they won’t  _ever_  ferget.”

The moment she was done, the Earth Pony released her grip on the Changeling and allowed him to scamper off into the festivities with a panicked whimper. Applejack felt a momentary pang of regret at her actions, but this was replaced by a sense of vindication when every other changeling in the immediate environs moved to give her table a wide berth, even those that couldn’t have  _possibly_  seen the altercation.

Suddenly, she was snapped out of her thoughts by the sound of a seat pulling out from her table.

“Well it’s about-!” Applejack’s words caught in her throat and died when she caught sight of the blank faceplate staring at her, her expression souring like a rotten apple. “Oh. You’re not Chrysalis. You’re one’a those bodyguards o’ hers, the... what? Faceless?”

The armor-covered changeling didn’t react. It merely continued to stare at her impassively.

Applejack shuddered slightly as she forced herself to remember that this  _thing_  was actually a living creature before crossing her hooves and looking away with a derisive snort. “Well, whatever y’are, you can go on an’ git. Ah  _know_  that Chrysalis is hearin’ me through that weird ‘hivemind’ thing y’all have going, so ah know she can hear me when ah tell her the same thing ah told that changelin’ I was hoof-wrasslin’ with: ah ain’t speakin’ to one’a her flunkies, ah’m  _only_  gonna speak to  _her_.”

Applejack ground her teeth in frustration for a second. Then she noticed that the Nameless hadn’t moved an inch.

She shot the changeling soldier a furious scowl. “What are ya, deaf or somethin’!? Ah said-!”

The changeling suddenly flashed green and was replaced by the imperious form of the changeling matriarch as she leveled a flat glare at the farmer. “I heard you the first time, you incessant nag. Be glad I agreed to this in the first place, what with you employing that tone of voice. Honestly,  _where_  did you learn how to conduct business, a seedy back alley in Mystha- ergh, I mean  _Mane_ -hattan?”

Applejack blinked in surprise before scowling again. “Ah  _said-!”_

“Yesyesyesyes!” The Chrysalis-faced-changeling emphasized each word with a shake of her hoof. “No flunkies, only me, blah blah blah.” She rolled her eyes in exasperation. “Do you have  _any_  idea just how busy  _I,_  a changeling queen as well as an Oligarch, am? I’m conducting almost a dozen conversations like this one as we speak, and frankly, you’re lucky to have actually garnered my attention in the first place.”

Applejack leapt from her seat, slammed her forehooves on the table in frustration, opened her mouth and-!

Only just barely managed to snap her jaw shut on her tongue. Applejack blew a snort of exasperation through her nose as she fell back into her seat and hastily chugged her mug of cider. She let out a sigh of relief even as she ground her teeth in exasperation.

“Ah... ah  _apologize_  fer that...” Applejack grit out with visible difficulty. “It’s just that... what ah need to talk to you about is very... it’s incredibly... look, the questions ah’ve got, they’ve been weighin’ heavy on mah mind for awhile, alright? Ah need you to be straight with me on this.” She narrowed her eyes at Chrysalis. “And don’t you try lyin’ to me, you hear? Ah’ll know, and if you do, ah  _swear-!”_

“I am a gold-plated dragon, weighing in at approximately one thousand tons and capable of breathing lightning and uncut opiates.” Chrysalis deadpanned flatly. “Additionally, the sky is blue, you have a little brother who is a rainbow Unicorn, and Celestia is a massive, raging bitch of a-!”

Applejack slammed her hooves on the table again, this time out of desperation. She flared her nostrils silently for a second before finally managing to respond. “W-wha...” She swallowed heavily. “What was th’ point of all that?”

Chrysalis shrugged absentmindedly. “Well, the first bit was part of a funny story about a cartel Solum Nox and I took down back in the day, the second bit was pure fact, obviously, the third a small figment of my imagination, and the fourth was more a personal opinion of mine, but honestly I think we  _both_  know that-”

Applejack was almost certain that she snapped an incisor with how tightly she was gritting her teeth. “Ah swear to every last one a’ my ancestors, if ya don’t tell me how an’ why y’did that, ah’ll play  _hoofball_  with your-!”

“How? Please, I’ve lied, cheated and deceived beings far older and more powerful than you in my sleep. You’re impressive, not exemplary.” Chrysalis snapped with obvious exasperation. “And second, if I’m going to be answering your questions, I want you to judge whether or not I’m telling the truth based not on what I say, but on how  _you_  feel about what I say. I could tell you the purest facts, truth as clear as spring water, but they would mean absolutely  _nothing!_ ” She struck the table viciously with her hoof. “If you were unwilling to accept them. By the end of this, you won’t learn the truth from me. You’ll merely see if what I say is what you’ve known all along.”

Chrysalis drew herself up to her fullest height, towering above the simple Earth Pony in all her regal splendor.

“Do I make myself clear?” She intoned firmly.

Applejack quailed before the queen’s imposing presence before steeling her nerves. “Ah...” She nodded slowly. “Yes... Yes, you’ve made yerself clear. Just... answer mah questions, alright?”

Chrysalis crossed her hooves on the table. “I will do my best. Now... your question?”

Applejack sucked on her teeth uncomfortably before slowly nodding. “B... before me an’ the girls came up here... t’help Shining Armor an’ Cadance... Princess Celestia told us about why she an’ Luna an’ Cadance did what they did. She told us about developin’ harmony, testin’ it, y’all gettin’ mad... She told us the truth... the whole truth... nothin’ but the truth...”

“Is there  _actually_  a question coming?” Chrysalis demanded neutrally.

Applejack’s expression wavered slightly, but she forged on. “An’ then... she told us about the trolls. An’...” Applejack swallowed heavily. “She told a lie. Just... just one lie. Small one, not even that many words.”

Chrysalis straightened up instantly, the distracted look in her eyes replaced with a hard-nosed focus that prompted the mare to continue.

“She...” Applejack reached up and lowered her hat over her eyes. “Princess Celestia said that she never wanted to harm anyone. That she never attacked them, that the trolls always did nothin’ but attack. And that... that was the truth.”

Chrysalis said nothing, neither confirming nor denying the statement.

“Princess Celestia said that she would do anythin’ she could t’ take it back, t’ make sure that tragedy never happened. That was... the truth.”

Chrysalis kept her peace as she watched the Earth Pony.

“She said that what happened to the trolls was one of the greatest tragedies in the history of Mundus. She promised us that it was one that has never,  _ever_  been repeated.”

Applejack slowly raised her gaze to meet the queen’s, eyes dead and expressionless.

“She lied.” She stated in a dead voice. “She lied to our  _faces.”_

Chrysalis’ expression remained neutral as she slowly receded into her chair and leaned back in her seat, hooves crossed over her chest. She stared at Applejack impassively for a moment before speaking.

“The djinn.” Chrysalis started emotionlessly. “Spirits of fire who resided in the country that would one day become Saddle Arabia. It wasn’t _always_  a completely gods-forsaken hellhole of a desert, only most of one. The djinn changed that when Equestria came for them. The djinn decided that rather than suffer an ignoble defeat, they would take a literally pyrrhic victory. They expended all the energy they had in themselves simultaneously. The results shaped the nation as it is today.

“The djinn weren’t the only ones consumed by flames. The wolf-like lupen and the spider-like arachne... so full of pride for their species, it’s quite shocking that neither we nor the Equestrians saw it coming. They lead protracted guerrilla wars against Equestria for as long as possible, but when they were finally cornered they set fire to their dens and webs with themselves inside rather than so much as entertain the possibility of allowing themselves to fall.

“And then there were the kirin...” Chrysalis trailed off as a thought struck her. “Tell me, have the ponies been exploring the jungles to the south of the area where my people’s capital is, I believe you call it the Badlands?”

Applejack blinked in confusion. “The Amarezon Rainforest? What’s that got to do with-?!” She cut herself off as an uncomfortable realization hit her. “The...the fossils mah cousin Crab Apple keeps findin’ in the ruins beneath his orchard. Y-ya  _can’t_  mean-!”

“Elongated muzzles close in size to a horse, consistent horns with varying lengths, larger-than-average canines?” Chrysalis deadpanned.

Applejack nodded weakly. “T-the experts, they all said that they were our ancestors, early ponies...”

“No, definitely the kirin. Close relation, but not direct. Their discipline in all that was medical was beyond superb.” Chrysalis heaved a heavy sigh as she inspected one of her hooves. “They displayed that aptitude a final time with the plague they devised. They will be missed. Them and others.”

Applejack stared at the changeling with silent, open-mouthed horror.

The queen reached out and accepted the mug of cider that was wordlessly passed into her hoof. She took a satisfying sip before swirling the rest, pensively observing the contents. “To be fair, you were right: she didn’t lie to you about anything else apart from the number. Everyone who died achieved that conclusion on their own. They chose to die free and awake rather than be forced to fall into an eternal slumber. Were it not for my duties as a queen and Oligarch, I’d most likely have joined them. But, then again...” She shrugged indifferently. “Celestia and I consistently butted heads even before this mess began. I might be biased.”

Shakes and shudders began to slowly wrack Applejack’s body as she slowly clutched at her hat. “Ah... th-that...” Horror and numb shock slowly crept into her voice and eyes as she moaned miserably. “Why... Why would the Princesses  _do_  that? Why would they hurt so many so badly?”

Chrysalis observed Applejack’s breakdown impassively before finally sighing heavily, a lifetime of weight leaving her in that one breath. “Because we drove them to it.”

Applejack’s head snapped up instantly. “What.” She breathed in shock.

The changeling matriarch ground her fangs in frustration. “How much did Celestia tell you about why Equestria went to war?”

The earth pony blinked in confusion. “Ah... she said... she said that y’all were threatenin’ Equestria ‘cause of the harmony and ya scared ‘em somethin’ fierce.”

Chrysalis snorted sadly and looked away. “Just like Celestia, always being overly generous towards her friends. As Scholar is fond of reminding us, some things never change.”

“W-what’re ya-?”

“Let me show you.” Chrysalis sighed. Her horn lit up with a green aura and Applejack’s world was engulfed in a flash of verdant energy.

When the light cleared from her eyes, Applejack gasped in shock. She and Chrysalis were still sitting at the same table they’d been sitting at throughout their conversation, but now said table was firmly situated on top of what appeared to be a miniaturized model of Equestria, granting them both a bird’s-eye-view.

“First, you must understand...” Chrysalis drew attention back to herself with a regretful tone. “Back in the days of Concordia, we took traitors  _very_  seriously. A person could retire with little worry, a person could argue orders or do what they felt was right, sure... but traitors?” A shudder ran the length of her body. “Every traitor in Concordia, every person who has turned on us and  _intentionally_  tried to harm us has invariably caused untold devastation. Boar the Ravager carved a bloody scar into whatever land he passed through when he gave into his bloodlust and abandoned all pretenses of civility. Hurnix’s hordes of plague-ridden beasts and monsters rotted nations at a time... to name but a couple. As such, we have never  _dared_  to suffer the existence of traitors in Concordia.”

Chrysalis stared out over the display of Equestria dejectedly. “When Equestria and the Princesses betrayed us... Well...” She clenched her eyes tiredly. “They were our friends. Or... rather...  _More_  than friends, really. After all, we’d managed to forge an  _empire_  together. It’s... hard to just be friends after such an undertaking. The bonds we shared were extremely deep. So for them, with whom we’d gone through so much with, with whom we’d stood side by side, to commit the ultimate sin in all of Concordia, and shatter the peace we had forged with blood and fire from the inside-out?”

The queen bared her fangs with ill-suppressed fury and self-hatred. “Our rage overtook us. Blinded us. We didn’t want to hear their excuses, their petty reasoning. We wanted them to pay the ultimate price at all costs. We wanted to make them suffer. We wanted them  _dead._  Them... and all associated with them.”

She pinned Applejack with a frigid stare. “Have you ever seen the true wrath of a god, little pony?”

Applejack shook her head mutely.

“Then allow me to describe to you the close second we planned to unleash upon your ancestors. What we intended to do and would have done had Discord not gone mad... madder and thrown the world into disarray.”

Suddenly, a noxious haze began to spread over the map of Equestria, starting in the bodies of water and sweeping the land.

“Serpense and the rest of the hydras would have poisoned everything. The water, the air, even the very ground itself. A miasma more vicious and more hideous than any previously concocted.”

The map began to shake and shudder violently. Vicious cracks appeared in the nation as the landscape split open. Mountains rose and mountains fell in an instant.

“Minos led the tribes deep underground. They planned on shattering the tectonic plates upon which Equestria rested, literally ripping it to shreds.”

Far, far away in the distance, the horizon suddenly became as black as the night, a wall of pitch-black stormclouds obscuring all else, their sole illumination the flashes of lightning that flared and roared within.

“The cyclopes concocted the mother of all storms. A maelstrom whose viciousness and sheer scale for devastation dwarfed any other to date. Had they had their way, the Turbine Brothers would have unleashed it upon Equestria.”

Slowly, the lands past the borders of Equestria started to light up with blue flames. Miniscule in size though they were, there were more than enough of the sparks that before long Equestria was encircled by an inferno of ethereal blue.

“This one was truly shocking. Prior to this point in time, the wraiths and the wights were... recalcitrant, to say the least, when it came to any wartime contributions. But when this tragedy occurred... they provided the grandest army of revenants in history. An all but literal ocean of the undead, each and every last one sharing in their masters’ rage.”

Slowly, an immense multitude of dark spots appeared across Equestria. The spots converged on the different towns and cities across the nation and swarmed over them.

“My changelings and I would have been particularly sadistic. We would have infiltrated your nations’ cities and capitals... and we would have  _devastated_  them, gutting them from the inside-out with disinformation and deception.”

“Stop…” Applejack choked out.

The sky high, high above Equestria lit up with orange light. “STOP!” Applejack shouted, jerking to her hooves and balancing on leaning over the table.

“The dragons... Pyrae Daemos never  _did_  tell us what he intended to do. He merely repeated a single phrase whenever he was asked...”

Fire, pure, unadulterated  _fire_  rained from the heavens above, engulfing Equestria entirely.

“He just said ‘they would burn’.” Chrysalis’ voice was devoid of emotion as she watched the immolation. “And those were just the more central peoples. Who would you prefer to hear of next? The arboreals, who wanted to turn your crops against you and slowly crush the life from you? The kirin, who had even more noxious and virulent afflictions than the one they killed themselves with waiting in the wings, tailored  _specifically_  for your kind? Or maybe-?”

“ENOUGH!” Applejack screamed, slamming her hooves hard enough on the table to crack the wood. The illusion froze around them. “W-why!?” She demanded. “What was the point of this! Why would yah  _tell_  me this!? All of this!?”

Chrysalis breathed a heavy sigh through her nose as she slowly rubbed her hoof over her muzzle. “So that you would  _understand._  This war... the devastation... the suffering... all of it. It wasn’t just the fault of the Princesses. It was ours. We... the Oligarchs that is... we forced the Princesses’ hands- or hooves- as it were. Because of all of our rash actions, the world was thrown into devastation. Perhaps if we hadn’t...” She trailed off for a moment before shaking her head. “But we did. Dwelling on ‘could haves’ and ‘what ifs’ is a wholly useless endeavor.

The queen met Applejack’s panicked eyes evenly. “You want the point of all this, you ask? Here it is: you now have as close to an unbiased account of what happened over two thousand years ago as there ever will be. You have all the facts you wanted and more. Whatever decisions you come to, they will be your own.  _That’s_  why I told you.”

Applejack sputtered incoherently. “B-but ah-! That’s-! This is just-!”

“Yes?” Chrysalis cocked an eyeridge.

“It’s all just so...  _stupid!”_  Applejack flailed her hooves helplessly.

Chrysalis shrugged. “This is war. It’s stupid by its very definition. What of it?”

“Ah-ah mean-!” The farmer desperately sought out the words. “Y’all both know what you did was wrong! Yer both sorry! Why can’t we all just- just  _stop_ this!? All of it!”

Chrysalis’ expression collapsed darkly. “Because both sides, us and Equestria alike, have done things that neither of us can take back. Neither of us is in a position where we can feasibly back down. On the one hand, several species are... simply put,  _gone._  Someone needs to answer for that. On the other, Celestia, Luna and Cadance would put us back into our slumber out of a sense of self-preservation.”

Chrysalis shuddered violently before allowing an air of cold fury to seep into her being. “I went through that for over two thousand years. It wasn’t unpleasant, it wasn’t torture, but...” She shook her head definitively. “No. I see why the djinn and the trolls acted as they did. I shall die on my hooves awake and screaming curses at Celestia before I  _dare_  live a second longer on my knees in her dream, and  _that_  is a promise.”

Applejack stared at her in quiet horror. “So... there’s no way of stoppin’ this?”

“Don’t you think we would have used them if we had any!?” Chrysalis snapped tersely. “ _None_  of us want this war, but it’s the only option left available to any of us!” Slowly, the tension and frustration started to leak out of the queen, leaving her hunched over the table and looking empty and... tired. “I... We don’t  _want_  to fight... after all they did... after all that’s been said and done... they were still my friends... We were still  _Oligarchs..._ ” She slowly turned away from the mare. “But the fact remains that we are beyond that point. It isn’t that we won’t stop this war... it’s that we both  _can’t._  No matter how much we desire it.”

Chrysalis heaved a weary sigh as she stared off into the distance, magic absentmindedly flowing out of her horn and into the pair’s surroundings.

“Honestly...” She breathed, almost as if to herself. “What I wouldn’t give... to have one more day back...”

Applejack shifted nervously in her seat as the changeling’s magic slowly wound its way through the illusion’s frozen flames, obscuring her sight with a hazy green fog.

“Just one more day... with my friends...”

**_“AAAAAND IIIII, WIIIIIIILL ALWAAAAAAYS LOOOOOOOOVE-!”_ **

**_THUNK!_ **

**_“OUCH!”_ **

Applejack jumped when a terrifyingly familiar voice belted out of the mists, only to be interrupted by the dull thunk of wood hitting flesh.

**“Put a sock in it, Discord!”**

**Slowly, the mists cleared to reveal an entirely different scene. A large dining hall, with a high-flung roof and wooden tables both long and round alike. A bar was set up against one wall, though no one was manning it, and a massive bonfire crackled inside of a hearth fit to hold it. Lining the walls were a variety of weapons and armor, from shields to helmets to spears to swords and everything in between.**

**There were a variety of individuals peppering the hall. A large, gruff minotaur was sitting at the bar silently, nursing a mug of dark liquid. An extremely serpentine seven-headed hydra and what appeared to be a floating ragged bedsheet with skeletal arms were situated at one of the tables. The wraith and two of the hydra’s heads were clutching playing cards. Two more of the hydra’s heads were staring flatly at the cards it was clutching in its heads while the remaining three were resting on the table and dozing.**

**A giant gray dragon, with cracked stony scales, was lazing by the fireplace, his head balanced atop his crossed forelegs as he lazily observed the going-ons of the hall. A trio of cyclopes with armored heads were sitting around another table, talking quietly amongst themselves.**

**Gavrill was also present, her feet propped up on one of the tables and a large jug clutched in one hand. She was scowling darkly at a stage set up on the far-side of the hall, where Discord was clutching a microphone and scowling as he rubbed his skull where a flung flagon had struck it.**

**“Was that really necessary?” He whined.**

**“It is when you sing like a fucking skinned cat!” Gavrill growled. “Could you do us all a goddamn favor and shut the fucking hell up?!”**

**“It’s a dark day when I find myself agreeing with the savage.” Minos grumbled from the bar.**

**“Come on, Discord!” “Bad enough that the portals froze over in that Odin-damned blizzard and we can’t get home!” Serpense’s free heads grumbled. “The cards we’re getting are making this night bad enough as it is!” “Don’t make it worse on us.”**

**“Even the joy of parting this fool from his credits is starting to wane...” Solum Nox bemoaned. “We beseech you to not sour any further enjoyment we might derive from the endeavour with your caterwauling.”**

**“‘Caterwauling’!?” Discord gasped in an insulted manner. “I will have you know that I am an** **_excellent_ ** **singer, thank you very much!”**

**Humor swept across the length of the hall, ranging from light snickers to derisive guffaws.**

**“Discord, there aren’t a lot of ‘facts’ when matters concern you...” Daemos chuckled like a rumbling volcano. “But you being far from anyone’s definition of a ‘good singer’ is assuredly one of them.”**

**The draconequus’ mouth flapped open and shut in shock for a few moments before he finally settled on a miffed scowl. “Well, we’ll see about that!” He grinned malefically as he scanned the hall. “But I’ll need some help...” Finally, he grinned exuberantly as his eyes alighted upon the cyclopes. “You’ll do! Come on up, Lightning!”**

**SNAP!**

**“Hey!” The middle-sized giant yelped when he suddenly appeared on the stage, clad in a business suit and fedora and clutching a comfortably-sized harmonica.**

**“Thunder!”**

**SNAP!**

**“Woah!” The largest cyclops blinked in shock when he found himself dressed like his brother and situated behind a drum-set.**

**“And Thunderbolt!”**

**SNAP!**

**“Uhh...” The smallest storm-crafter stared at the accordion in his hands in confusion.**

**“Alright, boys, just like we practiced!” Discord’s grin was actually splitting his face, only a small layer of skin at the back of his neck holding his head together as he snapped his fingers again.**

**The cyclopes jerked and blinked in surprise before slowly looking at one another.**

**Finally, Thunder shrugged and twirled his drumsticks. “What the heck.”**

**Thunderbolt nodded in agreement as he tested the keys on his accordion. “Might as well.”**

**“It’s not like we’ve got a better way to pass the time!” Lightning chuckled good-naturedly.**

**Discord snapped his fingers again and seated himself in front of a grand piano, a microphone hanging in front of his grinning mouth.**

**The spirit of chaos started to tap his feet rhythmically. “Come on, guys! A one, a two, a one two three four!”**

** [And with that, he started to play, a lilting tune wafting from his instrument and filling the hall.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxEPV4kolz0) **

**The Turbine Brothers followed his lead, matching the rhythm he was setting with their instruments.**

**Gavrill scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Come on, dumbass, can’t you take a fucking hint?!” She hauled back the arm with which she was holding her jug. “You can’t fucking-!”**

**_“IT’S NINE O’ CLOCK ON A SATURDAY!”_ ** **Discord belted out, his voice ringing out to fill the hall.**

**Gavrill squawked in shock as she jerked and lost her balance, tumbling to the floor while the rest of the Oligarchs snapped their full attention to their mad compatriot.**

**_“THE REGULAR CROWD SHUFFLES IN!”_ ** **He went on, revelling in the attention being focused on him.**

**Suddenly, the doors to the hall burst open, allowing Scholar, the Princesses and all of his remaining creations to rush in, accompanied by a gust of snow-laden wind.**

**“Hel’s saggy tits, it’s cold enough to freeze an ice giant’s balls off out there!” Scholar cussed vehemently as he slammed the portal shut. “Could someone please get me some rum before my... toes...” He trailed off as the tune of the music reached his ears. “What the... I thought you could only play Weird Al Yankovic!”**

**“I’ll have you know that I can do a lot of things!” Discord cackled. “Why should I just do what I** **_told_ ** **you I can do?”**

**“A fair enough point.” Celestia laughed as she ruffled her wings in order to dislodge the snow that crusted them. “Come, let’s find a table. I’ll take some mulled wine, if you please.”**

**“Brandy for me.”**

**“A bottle of gin, please.”**

**“Once again, rhum!”**

**“WOOF!” Cerberus barked gleefully, padding across the hall to snuggle his ‘mass’ by the roaring fire.**

**“You got it!” Nix and Null crowed as they darted behind the bar and started rifling through bottles.**

**“Remind me, why do we, an assassin and a surgeon, the best in our fields, always act as servers whenever they want to get drunk?” Veronica grumbled.**

**“Because the more sauced they are, the less chance there is of anyone starting a fight and getting hurt, and I’d prefer not to spend my free time stitching everyone up...” Fran hummed as she accepted a variety of bottles from her older siblings.**

**“Oh, right.” The youngest homunculus rolled her eyes as she picked up a platter.**

**Meanwhile, Discord suddenly appeared on a stool next to Minos, the bar transfiguring into ivory keys beneath his fingers as he continued to play.**

**_“THERE’S AN OLD MAN SITTING NEXT TO ME,_ **

**_MAKING LOVE TO HIS TONIC AND GIN!”_ ** **He crowed eagerly.**

**Laughter rippled throughout the hall as the minotaur shot a dirty glare at the draconequus, but he had a hard time hiding his smile in his mug.**

**_“HE SAYS, ‘SON, CAN YOU PLAY ME A MEMORY?’”_ ** **Discord sang as he sprang from the bar and swung through the air, piano and all.**

**_“‘I’M NOT REALLY SURE HOW IT GOES!_ **

**_BUT IT’S SAID AND IT’S SWEET AND I KNEW IT COMPLETE,_ **

**_WHEN I WORE A YOUNGER MAN’S CLOTHES!’”_ **

**“That was a few centuries, you old slab of beef!” Gavrill cackled as she righted herself, eliciting a new round of laughter as Minos shot her a very specific gesture.**

**_“LAAA LA LAAA, DI DAA DAAAAA,”_ ** **Discord crooned into the microphone.**

**_“_ ** **_LA LA, DI DA DA DA DUMMMM...”_ ** **The Oligarchs hummed along.**

**_“SING US A SONG, YOU’RE THE PIANO MAN!”_ ** **Discord burst out, followed along by a few of the Oligarchs who were swaying along to the tune.**

**_“SING US A SONG TONIGHT!_ **

**_WELL WE’RE ALL IN THE MOOD FOR A MELODY!”_ **

**_“AND YOU’VE GOT US FEELIN’ ALRIIIIGHT!”_ ** **Nix and Null chorused as they refilled Minos’ drink.**

**_“NOW JOHN AT THE BAR IS A FRIEND OF MINE!”_ ** **Discord snapped into being in front of Daemos’ nose, the dragon bobbing his head along with a soft smile.**

**_“HE GETS ME MY DRINKS FOR FREE!_ **

**_AND HE’S QUICK WITH A JOKE, OR TO LIGHT UP YOUR SMOKE!”_ **

**The hall’s other residents cackled at that statement, even Daemos letting out one of his rumbling laughs.**

**_“BUT THERE’S SOMEPLACE HE’D RATHER BE!”_ ** **Discord swung his hand over his face in faux lament.**

**The chaotic being made to continue, but before he could Daemos slowly rose to his feet and rumbled out,** **_“HE SAYS, ‘BILL, I BELIEVE THIS IS KILLING ME...’_ **

**_“AS THE SMILE RAN AWAY FROM HIS FACE!”_ ** **Discord added in eagerly.**

**_“‘WELL I’M SURE I COULD BE A MOVIE STAR!’”_ ** **Daemos rose a claw high into the air and preened as best as he could, causing many of the onlookers to collapse into hysterics.**

**_“‘IF ONLY I COULD GET OUT OF THIS PLACE!’”_ **

**“There’s not enough makeup in the world to make** **_that_ ** **happen, fire-spitter!” Scholar hooted.**

**“Please, you’re killing us!” Luna choked out as she hammered the table with her hoof, tears of laughter streaming down her face.**

**Discord giggled at the dragon’s overblown actions before falling back into the song.** **_“LAAA LA LAAA, DI DAA DAAAAA..._ **

**_LA LA, DI DA DA DA DUMMMM...”_ **

**He dropped into a seat between Solum and Serpense, the wight and hydra eyeing him with varying levels of eagerness and wariness.**

**_“NOW PAUL IS A REAL ESTATE NOVELIST!”_ ** **Discord swung an arm around the wight’s shoulders, drawing him in close.**

**_“WHO NEVER HAD TIME FOR A WIFE!”_ **

**“Hilarious.” Solum Nox droned over the raucous laughter of the others.**

**“Only because it’s true!” Cadance cried out eagerly.**

**_“AND HE’S TALKIN’ WITH DAVY, WHO’S STILL IN THE NAVY!”_ ** **Discord went on, using his other arm to grab one of Serpense’s head while his feet continued to play the part of the table that had become his piano.**

**_“AND PROBABLY WILL BE FOR LIFE!”_ **

**“** **_I_ ** **could have told you that.” Veronica rolled her eyes as she slid the platter of drinks she was holding onto Scholar and the Princesses’ table.**

**She then shrieked and attempted to cover herself with her arms when she noticed that she was suddenly wearing a frilly black and white outfit cut entirely too short on the chest and skirt.**

**_“AND THE WAITRESS IS PRACTICING POLITICS!”_ ** **Discord crowed from above her.**

**“Oh my...” Fran breathed as she looked over her new attire.**

**Scholar laughed heartily as he grabbed up a bottle and took a swig “Oh** **_man_ ** **that is-!”**

**_“AS THE BUSINESSMEN SLOWLY GET STONED!”_ **

**Scholar promptly spit out his drink and looked at the new suits he and the Alicorns were wearing in shock for a moment before collapsing into hysterics along with the rest of his friends.**

**Veronica cursed and struggled with the maid’s outfit that was clinging to her with devilish tenacity. “Someone get me out of this thing!” She demanded.**

**“Why the fuck should we, pipsqueak!” Gavrill demanded through her laughter. “I actually think that looks pretty fucking good on you! Better than that piss-ugly thing you** **_usually-GAH!”_ ** **Gavrill’s taunts turned to a roar of pain as Veronica tackled her to the floor, Fran on her heels with a long-suffering expression on her face.**

**_“YES THEY’RE SHARING A DRINK CALLED LONELINESS!”_ ** **Discord grinned as the siblings fought, Fran struggling to wrench her sisters apart.**

**_“BUT IT’S BETTER THAN DRINKING ALONE!”_ **

**_“SING US A SONG, YOU’RE THE PIANO MAN!”_ ** **The Oligarchs reprised, everyone swaying along with the rhythm by this point, even Minos and Solum Nox, their baritones mixing in with the song.**

**_“SING US A SONG TONIGHT!_ **

**_WELL WE’RE ALL IN THE MOOD FOR A MELODY!”_ **

**_“AND YOU’VE GOT US FEELIN’ ALRIIIIGHT!”_ ** **Nix and Null concluded, slamming a large casket on the bar, from which they started passing mug after mug to everyone in the hall.**

**_“IT’S A PRETTY GOOD CROWD FOR A SATURDAY.”_ ** **Discord went on, gleefully watching the Oligarchs laugh and drink alongside one another.** **_“AND THE MANAGER GIVES ME A SMILE!”_ ** **He saluted the madly grinning Scholar.** **_“‘CAUSE HE KNOWS THAT IT’S ME WHO THEY’RE COMIN’ TO SEE!_ **

**_TO FORGET ABOUT LIFE FOR AWHILE!”_ **

**“Only on the coldest, darkest, most** **_gods-forsaken_ ** **night of the year, you deranged bastard!”**

**“VERONICA!”**

**“GAHAHA! There’s hope for you yet, kid!”**

**Discord reappeared back on the stage with a flash and a bang, pounding away at the piano for all he was worth.**

**_“AND THE PIANO, IT SOUNDS LIKE A CARNIVAL!”_ ** **He hollered.**

**_“AND THE MICROPHONE SMELLS LIKE A BEER!_ **

**_AND THEY SIT AT THE BAR AND PUT BREAD IN MY JAR,_ **

**_AND SAY, ‘MAN, WHAT ARE YOU DOIN’ HERE?’”_ **

**Suddenly, Scholar jumped on a table and held out his hand. “Come on, Chrysalis, whaddaya say? It’s the final refrain!”**

Chrysalis jumped in shock at the sudden interaction, and before she could react her magic had already fizzled out and the illusion collapsed around her.

Applejack blinked slowly as she processed what had just happened. She and Chrysalis were back in the bar...

And every one of the patrons was staring at them in numb, silent shock.

Chrysalis’ eyes widened slowly as her expression became of of shame and horror. She then clenched her eyes shut and slumped over the table, tears of regret streaming down her face. “Damn it...” She muttered vehemently. “Stupid... stupid...  _damn it...”_

The queen wallowed helplessly in her misery for what seemed like an eternity.

Then...

_“Oh... laaa laaa laa di da daaa...”_

Chrysalis’ head snapped up and stared at Applejack, a litany of emotions playing across her face.

Applejack flinched at the motion, but hastily swallowed and went on. “ _La la, di daaa...”_  She trailed off in an off-key tune.

Silence reigned over the bar, until finally...

_“Oh... laaa laaa laa...”_  A Crystal Pony started, his voice low but certain.

_“Di da daaa...”_  This time a changeling, who slowly stood up from his seat and swayed to an unheard tune.

One after another, pony after pony, changeling after changeling, Concordian after Concordian got to their hooves and started to hum and sing, following along with the song.  _“La la, di da..._

New instruments were passed to those who could play, and a certain steady tune started to fill the bar.

_“Da da dum...”_

Chrysalis stared at the Concordians in shock, processing what was happening around her, trying to determine how best to react.

Finally, as the music started to crescendo, she came to a decision.

_“SING US A SONG, YOU’RE THE PIANO MAN!”_  She shouted as she sprang to her hooves, her voice ringing clear and loud over the patrons.

_“SING US A SONG TONIGHT!”_

_“WELL WE’RE ALL IN THE MOOD FOR A MELODY!”_  Applejack led the ponies in crying out, nodding her head along to the music. _“AND YOU’VE GOT US FEELIN’ ALRIIIIGHT!”_

_“LAAA LA LAAA, DI DAA DAAAAA!”_ Chrysalis cried.

_“LA LA, DI DA DA DA DUMMMM!”_  The Concordians replied.

And so they went, for the rest of the party, singing and singing and singing, screaming their defiance at the hopelessness of their situation for as long and as powerfully as they could.


	27. Chapter 27. Academic Proposals

There are generally three kinds of people at a party. Most simply go in and mingle, talk to people and munch on snacks, and generally participate in the activities.

Some dive in wholeheartedly, taking to the party with tremendous enthusiasm and boosting the experience for everyone. More often than not, they’re the ones who started the party in the first place.

And then there’s the third type, which usually only consists of one person per party: the loners. The ones off in a corner, not talking to anybody, probably with their nose in one of the host’s books. They’re usually dragged into the festivities reluctantly, if at all. And at nine, when the party’s really getting interesting, they’re the ones heading home first.

Twilight was very much of the latter persuasion. Just because she’d been forced to participate in the party and just because she’d had a mug or two of cider by no means meant she had to enjoy it. She had a strict quota on her amount of daily social interaction, and it had long been exhausted.

 It was easy enough for Twilight to slip out of the crowd with the partygoers caught up in the revelry. Finding a corner to retreat to, on the other hand, was proving to be a  _much_  more difficult endeavor. It seemed to Twilight that no matter where she went there was an endless parade of ponies and changelings living it up to the extreme.

_‘Logically,’_  she thought to herself as she trotted off of a staircase and turned onto a street where several changelings were trying to wrestle a very large plant waving its vines around into a wooden crate, much to the onlookers’ amusement.  _‘There should be at least_ one  _place in this city that’s nice and quiet. It’s simple statistics. Unless...’_  Her eyes widened as she dropped to her haunches and snapped her forehooves to her temples.  _‘Unless I’m at the opposite end of the spectrum and this is the one iteration of the city where there_ aren’t _any quiet places!_

_‘If there aren’t any quiet places…’_ Twilight scrunched her eyes in panic as she started to slowly rock back and forth. ‘ _Then I’m just going to keep wandering through this- this cacophony, until I can’t take it anymore and then I’ll lose my mind! And then Scholar will throw me out without my friends, and Princess Celestia will see that I not only abandoned the mission but_ also  _my friends, and then she’s going to send me to- No!’_  

Her eyes snapped wide open. _‘I_ refuse  _to let that happen! There’s only one logical solution!’_ A manic glint lit up her eye as her horn flared up. _‘I have to_ make  _a quiet pla-!’_

“LOOK OUT BELOOAAARGH!” A panicked scream cut through her panic like a knife. Twilight hastily looked up just in time to see a flailing blur of hooves and white before a heavy something, or someone, slammed into her, sending the both of them rolling across the street in a tangled ball.

“Oww…” The mass, a moderately-sized earth pony with a white pelt and gray mane that had once been slicked back but was now in spiked every which way, moaned. “Whose bright idea was it to move that Venomous Stranglethorn to the Overloft via the Lucente District instead of using a teleport-? Waaaait...” The pony trailed off before snapping upright in a panic.  _“VENOMOUS!?”_  He quickly flailed about, running his hooves all over his coat and thoroughly checking himself before finally relaxing. “Oh thank  _Ceres...”_  He breathed as he flopped onto his back.

“Buweeeargh...?” Twilight moaned from where she was squashed under him.

“Hm?” The pony turned his head this way and that before catching sight of Twilight underneath him. He promptly let out a panicked squawk as he scrambled off her so fast Twilight almost wondered if he knew how to teleport. “Ohcrapcrap _crap!_  I’m  _soooo_  so so so sorry!” He apologized, practically shoving her back onto her hooves as he frantically ran his limbs over her in an effort to locate any injuries.

“This is typical, just typical!” The stallion grumbled to himself as he circled the still-dizzy mare. “Not only do I get caught up in that damn _dastard’s_  monstrosity!” He spat out the insult like it was ten times more vile than it actually was. “But I also wind up slamming into one of the few very-much  _do-not-touch_  individuals in the city! Ty-pic-al!”

“Wh- h-hey, hey!” Twilight protested as she snapped out of her stupor and waved him off. “I’m fine! Thank you for that...” She paused as a thought occurred to her. “By the way, what exactly  _is_ a Venomous Stranglethorn, anyway? I’ve never heard of it. Though...” She looked away awkwardly. “That’s becoming less and less of a surprise the more I interact with Concordia.”

The pony perked up instantly as he trotted before the mare and gestured at the plant. “I’m so- moderately, admittedly, considering the topic- glad you asked!  _That_  is a fine specimen of the species _Taxus Quercifolia,_  commonly referred to as the Venomous Stranglethorn! It’s rather self-demonstrating, to be honest. It’s something like a Venus Flytrap, only it actively hunts its prey as opposed to luring it in, it dissolves its food externally with its venom as opposed to internally, and its thorns act as an analog to teeth, so...” He tapped his chin contemplatively. “I suppose it’s really nothing like a Venus Flytrap at all, is it?”

“Huh...” Twilight nodded along as she processed the information, the familiar sensation of learning helping to calm her nerves even further. “I suppose it makes sense that I haven’t heard of them. From what Iow  kn, the harmony would have forced something so dangerous to devolve into a different species entirely.” She then blinked as another fact hit her. “Wait, why did you call it a ‘dastard’s monstrosity’?”

The stallion instantly scowled in irritation. “Ah, yes.” He raised a hoof and pointed at the plant’s swaying tendrils. “You see that irregular coloration on its limbs?”

Twilight narrowed her eyes. “The blue polka-dots? What about-?” Her pupils immediately dilated as she came to the most logical conclusion she could. “Tell me that thing is  _not_  a hybrid with what I think it is.”

“I dearly wish I could.” The stallion drawled venomously. “The plant on its own is bad enough as is, but to combine it with Discord’s Poison Joke... eurgh. In case you can’t tell, my colleague had a most rancid sense of humor.”

“Your colleague?” Twilight inquired.

The stallion’s mood seemed to sour even further, though this time he appeared more saddened than angry. “Cory. Cory Garlez. Doctor Cory Garlez. A genius at manipulating the genetic foundation of plantlife and a right pain in my flank. He...” He bowed his head. “He... he’s not in the city.”

“O-Oh... I’m sorry...” Twilight winced in sympathy, mentally berating herself for a moment... until a thought struck her. “Um... sorry if this sounds rude, but... isn’t Cory Garlez a bit of a strange name?”

The stallion snorted in a macabre manner. “Yes yes yes, I suppose that  _would_  be a strange name for a pony, wouldn’t it? Not so much for an arboreal, though.”

Twilight’s brows furrowed in thought at the unfamiliar use of the word. “I assume you’re not talking about the ecosystem formed by the canopies of large forests.”

The stallion smiled sadly and shook his head. “A Concordian species, I’m not surprised you haven’t heard of them. Sapient flora, often taking a bipedal, bimanual form. Quite common back in the day, as a matter of fact. It gave Cory a bit of a foothold when it came to his field.”

Twilight winced again, this time from a bolt of self-conscious shame. “Oh...”

The stallion gave her a sidelong look before rolling his eyes. “Oh, don’t be like that. You’re not several millennia old, you’re not at fault. Besides, the Alicorns eventually managed to overcome the arboreals, and for all his many many many faults, Cory knew when to fold ‘em. I suspect that I’ll see him before I even begin to miss him!” The pony started to smile exuberantly... before flinching and darting his eyes back and forth. “Er-! That-that-that is to say-!”

Before his panic could progress any further, it was cut off by Twilight giggling in amusement. “Let’s start over, shall we?” She suggested, sticking her hoof out. “Twilight Sparkle, student of one of your country’s greatest enemies.”

The stallion stared at her hoof in dumbfounded amazement before grinning in turn and shaking it. “Helix. Triple Helix. Doctor Triple Helix. Head of genetic research here in Vitrum, and most likely a mad scientist by your modern standards.”

Twilight perked up even further following his introduction. “Really? That’s incredible! What kind of research did you conduct? Would you mind compa-?”

“AND A-ONE AND A-TWO AND-!”

_**BWAAAAAAP!** _

Twilight jerked in shock, nearly leaping into the air as the sound of a blaring trumpet erupted less than five feet behind her.

Said trumpet was then followed up by even more brass instruments, including a number of sousaphones, a whole twelve-pony drum set, and over a hundred clomping hooves as an impromptu marching band marched past on the stairs. The sound of the band, merged with the general cacophony of the party and the shouts of the workers trying to subdue the Venomous Stranglethorn resulted in nothing short of a swirling maelstrom of noise.

Twilight’s eye twitched frantically as her mind reeled, attempting to wrap itself around the jarring turn of events, sparks occasionally hissing and spitting from the tip of her horn.

Triple Helix was in a similar, though lesser, state, shooting a murderous glare at the band of ponies. “OCD can be a bit of a nag at times, can’t it?”

“Personal experience, I take it?” Twilight managed to grind out.

“How’d you guess?”

“You’ve got a verbal tic where you repeat things three times.”

Helix flinched and rubbed his jaw self-consciously. “Could have sworn I’d gotten that under control…”

The sound of sousaphones blaring in unison flared into a crescendo, causing both Twilight and Helix to flinch simultaneously. “We need to get away from this noise, otherwise I will do something I  _won’t_  regret later!” Twilight yelled.

“Couldn’t agree more, I’m all of ten seconds from unleashing a plague that would rid the genepool of these buffoons once and for all!” Helix replied. “Academia Grand Central Library is nearby, we can duck in there.”

“You have a -” Twilight smacked her face with her hoof. “Of course there’s a library system, I was in it earlier today and your nation was founded by a man named  _Scholar,_ why didn’t I think of that!? Anyway, where is it?”

Helix didn’t answer, instead pointing a hoof off to to Twilight’s side. The unicorn glanced back to see a large crystalline building with an impressive flight of stairs leading to its entrance, the words  _‘Academia Grand Central Library’_  carved into the crystal arc above it.

“How did I miss that?” Twilight wondered faintly.

“To be fair, you  _were_ in the midst of a nervous breakdown. Anyways, come on, before we do something rash...” And with that, the geneticist lead her up the staircase.

Twilight gave Helix a sidelong look as they went. “So, to be clear, how extensive  _is_ this library? The library I saw earlier was impressive enough, so-”

“Library?” Helix furrowed his brow in thought. “What was outside it, a pair of griffons or a pegasus with spread wings and a mortarboard?”

“Griffons, why?”

“Ah, right, that’d be the... East End Branch. Eh...” He shrugged. “Not the largest branch, but still, respectably sizeable.”

Twilight blinked. “Wait, that was a branch-?”

Words failed her as Helix pushed the Library’s doors open and she stepped into the lobby of the structure and first beheld the interior of the massive building. Two columns of bookshelves twenty feet high and filled with books lined the sides of what Twilight realized with increasing giddiness was a  _hallway_. Tables with installed desk lamps filled the center of the hall. Craning her neck up, Twilight saw a second floor, also lined with bookshelves the same size as the ones on the ground floor. A distant corner of her mind noted that she seemed to be drooling, but the rest of her was beyond caring.

Triple Helix let out an amused chuckle at her reaction. “Yes yes yes, most people have the same reaction. Wait till you see the archives in the basement.” Reaching over, he used a hoof to close Twilight’s open jaw with a click. “Aaaanyways, I’m going to go and look up a few tomes on chronomancy, see if I can either revert a few of the experiments I had in storage to their original forms or put them to use as is. You can find an index over... thataway.” He gestured towards a pedestal upon which rested a large tome that could have been used to stop open a bank vault.

“Well, do enjoy yourself! Tatata!” Triple Helix made it a few feet before facehoofing. “ _Damn!”_

Twilight continued to stare at the immense collection of knowledge in dumbfounded delight...

**CLAP!**

Until she jerked back in shock from an impact inches from her face.

The mare who’d snapped her book shut in front of Twilight’s nose rolled her eyes in exasperation before continuing on to wherever she’d been headed.

Twilight grinned sheepishly for a second before hastily galloping over to the index and wrenching it open. “Ooooh, where should I start?!” She squealed exuberantly as she flipped through the many pages. “Twelve different shelves on Arcane Theory, an entire wing dedicated to Spellcrafting, _a twenty-volume biography on Starswirl the Bearded?”_  Twilight nearly jumped out of her pelt with joy at the mere thought. “The one back home only has fifteen! Guess I know what I’m going to be doing for the next... five...”

Twilight trailed off as something caught her eye. Specifically, a pegasus carrying a small mountain of books above her with a cloud of runes originating from the tattoos on her wings.

The lavender unicorn stared after the pegasus for a minute, then glanced at the index thoughtfully for a moment before reluctantly flipping to a different page. “‘Introduction to Rune-Based Magic and Array-Composition’, Runic wing, third floor, Row J, eighth shelf from the bottom, should be... twelfth from the right.” The location committed to memory, Twilight trotted off to find the wing in question.

After about a half-dozen wrong turns, three confused turnarounds, and a staircase that led to literally nowhere, a thoroughly frazzled Twilight managed to finally drag herself to her intended location.

“Why do they even  _have_  an empty pocket dimension in here anyways?!” She groaned tiredly.

Twilight shook her head to clear the fog from her mind as she examined the shelves around her. “Alright, that’s enough rest. Come on, Twilight, need to get that book, need to bridge the gap. J, J, J... There we go!” She shot to her hooves and trotted over to the shelf in question.

“Alright, eight up, twelve left... jackpot!” Twilight’s eyes and horn lit up simultaneously as she focused on the book she wanted. She concentrated her magic on the book’s spine...

_**“** _ _** ZUUUUUL! ** _ _**”** _

And jumped several feet in terror when an evil, obscenely loud voice erupted from all around her at once.

The eruption of noise was then closely followed up by a screeching sound, like a ton of glass shattering into shards all at once.

Before Twilight could properly process these noises, an all-too-familiar laugh cut through the haze over her psyche.

“Hahahaha! Perfect, just perfect!” Trixie chortled eagerly as she trotted down the row of bookshelves, an average-sized tome floating in front of her nose. “With this, the Majestic and Bombastic Trixie’s performances shall be more grandiose than ever! Though she wonders... ‘ZUUL, MUTHABUCKA!’” She roared, rearing up on her hindlegs and flailing her hooves about wildly before falling back down and tilting her head in thought.

“Hmm... not bad, but it makes Trixie sound like somebody from Neigh Orleans. Or from Colt Fiction, for that matter... Bah!” She dismissed her misgivings with a shrug. “First one for chills, second for laughs. Either way, Trixie can  _finally_  work that Ventriloquist Fridge she’s wanted to use for so long! Let’s see, what  _else_  is in here...” She started flipping through her book eagerly before pinning a page with her hoof. “Ooooh, instrument conjuration and auditory refinement! Trixie  _knew_  those vuvuzela lessons would pay off! And a one, and a two-!”

“TRIXIE!” Twilight shrieked, her eye twitching furiously as she marched up to the mare. “Does the word  _‘library_ ’ mean nothing to you, you boorish, arrogant, uncouth, insufferable- insufferable-  _Pliohippus_!”

Trixie reeled back in shock from the outburst. “Wh- you- who do you think you are, you blind ignoramus of a dog!?” Trixie spat back furiously. “Trixie was simply testing out a new spell she discovered, as most researchers do when they get the chance! Trixie has half a mind to-! To... to...” Trixie trailed off as her gaze slowly drifted up, staring with widening eyes at something above Twilight. “Eeeeeeep...”

Twilight barely even noticed as she snorted furiously in Trixie’s frozen face. “I don’t care where we are or who you think  _you_  are, what you did was rude and inconsiderate to other patrons of this establishment! I might not be a violent mare, but I have half a mind to give you a good smack upside the head in hopes of teaching you some manners!”

“Oh-sweet-Hecate-no-anything-but-that- _please!”_  Trixie babbled desperately as she fell on her rump and frantically scrambled backwards. “Trixie wants to  _live! LIIIVE!”_

Twilight blinked in confusion as she followed Trixie’s gaze. “What the heck are you... talking...” Twilight trailed off as well as she stared above her. “Ohhhhh sweet Celestia’s luscious, glorious ass what the hell...”

There, hovering barely a foot above Twilight’s head, was one of the library’s massive bookcases. Perhaps even more impressive than the sheer weightof the thing was that the telekinetic field was holding each individual book, preventing them from falling out due to the tilt.

There were no sparks from Twilight’s horn, no wavers in the field, and no strain whatsoever.

“Hmm... Impressive,” a deep voice rumbled from behind them. Both unicorns whirled around to see Seath closely examining Twilight’s telekinetic field. “Well-balanced, little to no fluctuation in stability, barely even wavering... This is just an estimate, of course, but judging by sheer power alone I’d say you might qualify as a Magister. Very impressive indeed.” He turned his sightless gaze down towards Twilight. “Now, if only you didn’t vandalize my beloved library to prove it.”

Twilight’s pupils dilated as she tried to back away from the drake. “I-I-I’m sorry Duke Seath, sir! I-I didn’t  _mean_  to deface your wonderful, magnificent,  _superb...”_  Twilight started to trail off slightly as she stared at the multitude of books around her... and was promptly brought down to Mundus by Seath impatiently snapping his claws in front of her nose. “Er, r-right! Anyways, I was just reaching for  _one_  book when _she!”_  She jabbed her hoof at Trixie. “Rudely startled me! This is her fault, give her to the six-armed sociopath for inequine experimenting!”

_“Me!?”_  Trixie sputtered indignantly. “Trixie did no such thing! Trixie was just testing a new spell of hers, she did nothing wrong!  _This nag_  is the sole culprit!” She jabbed Twilight’s chest. “Blame her, feed her to the laughing obscene garbage compactor!”

“Pompous ass!” Twilight snapped furiously.

“Stuck-up zealot!”

“Self-aggrandizing charlatan!”

“Well at least Trixie’s mane-!”

**SNAP!**

Twilight and Trixie froze as a loud snap shook the air around them. Then the air froze as well.  _Then_  the color of everything nearby inverted momentarily before becoming a dull gray.

Seath snorted loudly through his nose as he kneaded his brow. “Deep breaths, Seath, deep breaths...” He ground out. “They’re not even a century old, they don’t know any better, they both want to learn and you don’t want your darling Priscilla to get angry at you about scaring everybody again...”

Finally, he clapped his hands and nodded in finality. “Alright, let’s try this again...”

Seath snapped his claws, causing a glyph array to appear around his hand. Color inverted once more before returning to normal. Before either Trixie or Twilight could say another word, the drake hastily cleared his throat. “As impressive as it is that Scholar’s progenies have left such a....  _lasting_  impression on you two... Am I correct in understanding that you did  _not_  intend to vandalize my property?”

Twilight shook her head furiously. “No, no, of course not! I-I’m as surprised as you are! I mean,  _look_  at that thing!” Twilight gestured frantically at the massive bookshelf. “I could lift the  _books,_  sure, but that has to be over ten tons of crystal!”

“Eleven thousand, five hundred and twelve kilograms, not including the books.” Seath rumbled.

“See!?” Twilight demanded frantically.“I’m a powerful unicorn, I’ll admit to that, and I  _have_ lifted approximately that much weight in the past, but I was struggling the entire time and was bedridden with a stress-induced headache the next morning! This? This is  _effortless!”_

“Trixie can confirm this, if we’re thinking of the same incident,” the blue unicorn added, if somewhat reluctantly. “Not the stress headache part, but definitely the weightlifting.”

Twilight started to frantically pace back and forth as her mind flew a mile a minute. “Ohmygosh, ohmygosh, ohmygosh! What’s happening to me!? Is my magical core mutating? Am I being subverted by invisible radiation? Am I  _dying!? Is Celestia going to send me back to magical kindergarten!?”_  She suddenly grabbed Trixie by her shoulders and started shaking her desperately. “WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME YOU DEMON-WORSHIPPING DEVIL-NAG-WITCH!?”

“Tri-i-i-i-xie is un-un-uncomfortable-le-le with thi-i-i-is!” The mare managed to get out.

Seath twitched for a second before taking a slow, calming breath, leaning down, and releasing it right in Twilight’s face. The mare immediately let go of Trixie, the manic gleam in her eyes softening into a serene calmness.

“Did I use the correct dose, or are you going to be stoned for the rest of the day?” Seath growled.

Twilight blinked in surprise before shaking her head and smiling sheepishly. “Nonono, I’m good, thanks!”

Seath snorted in satisfaction. “Good.” His blank gaze flicked back to the space above Twilight’s head. “You can put the bookshelf back now.”

Twilight’s head snapped up in shock. “Wait, I kept that up through a panic attack? Wow, something  _is_  up with my magic...”

“Ahem?”

“Ah, right!” Twilight’s horn flared as she exerted her will on reality. The bookcase suddenly plunged towards the ground...

And was promptly caught in a series of rune arrays that encircled its mass.

“Drop it.” Seath grunted in frustration, his fingers twitching slightly as he held the arrays stable.

Twilight hastily killed the light around her horn, stepping back as Seath lowered the bookshelf into its previous position. “I-I’m so sorry!” She apologized. “I tried to lower it gently, but the motion-!”

“Was multiplied far beyond what you initially anticipated, right?” Trixie asked hastily.

Twilight blinked in surprise. “How did you-?”

“Trixie was affected the same way when Scholar purged the harmony from Trixie and  _her_  friends!” The blue mare answered eagerly. “Its removal must have unleashed your full potential. Trixie was able to handle it because she’s been fighting against harmony her whole life, so the margin for improvement was present but far from drastic. You, on the other hand, have always used a fraction of your strength for your spellcasting, hence you’re overcompensating by attempting to use the same percentage of energy you’ve used your entire life, which is currently far bigger than it’s ever been!”

Twilight and Seath stared at Trixie in open-mouthed shock.

Trixie looked back and forth between them before frowning petulantly. “What? Just because Trixie is a performer doesn’t mean she isn’t intelligent! Trixie will have you know that a  _lot_  of attention to detail goes into maintaining her illusions!”

Seath sighed and rolled his head. “Well, anyways, for whatever reason, Scholar wants you and your friends to remain in good health. As such, I had better assist you with reclaiming control over your magic.”

Twilight blinked in confusion. “Huh? I realize my magic is a bit out of control, but how could I possibly hurt myself?”

“Third dimensional relocation through the æther coupled with a surcharge of energy twice what the atomic bonds can take equals out to?” Seath asked in a deadpan voice.

Twilight scrunched up her snout in thought for a second before paling in terror. “Every stone structure within a two-kilometer radius shattering from the force of the blast?” She squeaked.

“Three if you’re feeling particularly pessimistic. Or optimistic, depending on how you view these things.” Trixie piped in.

“So is there a testing site we can  _slowly_ walk over to or-?” Twilight whimpered.

“Reading room seven, follow me.” Seath drawled, hauling his mass around and dragging his way down the corridor, stopping only a moment to glance back at Trixie. “Would you like to come as well or...?”

“An opportunity to watch one of the strongest unicorns on the continent relearn how to use magic from the ground up? You’d need to _pay_  Trixie to miss this!” The showmare squealed as she galloped behind the drake.

“Don’t enjoy it  _too_  much, Trixie.” Twilight grumbled darkly.

“Oh, Trixie won’t, she promises.” The blue unicorn held her hoof over her heart before grinning sadistically. “By the way... that was _quite_  the exclamation back there. Luscious  _and_  glorious?

Was your student-teacher relationship a little… closer than usual, or was that a Freudian slip indicating you wished it were?”

Seath rolled his eyes as Twilight gave a squawk of protest behind him and retorted with a comment that earned a splutter from Trixie in turn. Children. He was surrounded by children. But at least they were following him.

Finally, after a few long minutes of walking they reached a large set of double doors, large enough that even Seath could fit through them with no trouble or adjustment. A small placard with a large number seven carved into it sat attached to the wall next to the doors.

“This is a reading room?” Trixie and Twilight exclaimed simultaneously, the former in incredulity and the latter in excitement.

“Well, our researchers  _are_  quite active, you know.” Seath rumbled, examining a panel of runes he conjured with a wave of his hand. “Now, let me just check and make sure... Oh come now, really!?” He exclaimed in frustration. “I keep  _telling_  them to clean it out whenever they’re done, but do they listen?  _Nooooo...”_

“Is there a problem?” Twilight asked worriedly.

“No, no, nothing much, just clearing out somebody's leftover work...” Seath grumbled darkly as he tapped a few choice runes.

Seconds later, a wave of heat rolled from the doors, along with a multitude of tortured, inequine squeals of agony.

When the wave relented, Seath pushed the door open and took a deep breath through his nose. “Ahhh, fresh ashes. A smell that’s only equaled by the smell of hot coffee in the morning. Well, let’s get started!”

Trixie and Twilight glanced at one another uncomfortably as the Pale Drake shuffled his way into the room.

“Alright, tell me you’re at least a  _little_  disturbed by that.” Twilight demanded.

“Eh...” Trixie tilted her hoof side to side in a so-so manner. “To be fair, Trixie is fairly certain those were hideous abominations of science and magic that lived their short lives in agony and that Seath did them a favor. But yes, it is a little disturbing. There is a reason why Trixie didn’t decide to major in biology, after all.”

“Then why follow someone who  _allows_  them to do things like that!?” Twilight demanded indignantly.

“Well, for one, their experiments  _do_  often provide vaccines to horrible afflictions.” Trixie shrugged. “There was this one disease long ago back in Concordia. Evil thing, really, almost a guaranteed death penalty. ‘Franken’ Fran Madaraki managed to eradicate it in little under six months when she and a team of researchers were granted unlimited resources.”

Twilight blinked in surprise. “Really? What was it called?”

Trixie tilted her head in thought. “Can...seer? Something like that. Either way, it was a very well-recorded moment in history.”

“Never heard of it,” Twilight stated flatly.

“Ex- _actly.”_  Trixie shot back with a smirk.

“If you two are quite finished…” Seath interjected, his voice trailing off menacingly.

The pair hastily scrambled into the room, unwilling to poke the very awake and irritated dragon any further.

The room itself was fairly impressive, a crystalline cube bigger than most houses. Shelves lined the walls, holding notebooks, references and manuals, and all manner of arcane lab equipment. In the center was a large wooden table, liberally engraved with runic arrays and decorated by scorch marks and stains of unknown origin. Leaning against the walls were several mats, also liberally covered in runic arrays. More runes lined the walls and windows, though some looked… faded. And, of course, a baker’s dozen of small piles of ash scattered around the room.

“Now then...” Seath tapped the tips of his fingers together thoughtfully. “Let’s start with the basis of all magic: theory. Explain to me how you employ your magic on a day-to-day basis.”

Twilight perked up eagerly at the opportunity to discuss magic with another intellectual. “Well, let’s see...” She tapped her chin thoughtfully. “First and foremost, I visualize the intended goal or target of whatever spell I’m using. Then, I reach deep inside myself to find my magical core, grasp ahold of my energy, and direct it towards my goal while focusing on moulding the energy towards its intended purpose. That way, I can use the energy to warp the fabric of reality and alter the laws of physics in such a manner that suits my needs. I have a wider variety of spells than most unicorns thanks to my Cutie Mark focusing on magic in general, as opposed to a singular specialized skill or talent. Most unicorns can only perform spells related to their talent, besides standard telekinesis.”

Twilight slipped out of lecture mode to see Seath staring at her with his jaw hanging open. “That’s- It’s- I don’t even-”

The dragon visibly shuddered as he collected himself, furiously kneading the blank space where his eyes would be. “I really should have expected this, but- Very well. Clearly we are talking about two very different systems of spellcasting here. Very,  _very_  different.”

Twilight blinked in confusion. “Huh? What do you mean? Magic is a byproduct of life, controlling it is an instinctual process highly dependant on visualization and intent.

“If Trixie may?” Trixie interjected, raising her hoof as she stepped forwards. “Trixie believes that we may have a case of divergent evolution on our hands. After all, it’s been over two thousand years, hence Equestrian arcane theory has shifted over time based on very different conditions, such as less magical flexibility due to harmony, the loss of the Concordian knowledge base, and a singular dominant magic-using species, as opposed to numerous species with different philosophies pooling their knowledge. Add in the universality of Cutie Marks and their personalized magic amongst the population, and it’s little wonder Equestrian magic has evolved the way it has.”

Seath rumbled unhappily as he nodded along. “I understand, but still. The idea of using such a system... it’s more than enough to make my skin crawl.”

“Hey!” Twilight protested. “What’s wrong with my magic!?”

“Besides the fact that it’s essentially an arcane club with little to no concept of grace or nuance?” Seath asked flatly.

“But there  _are_ advantages to the Equestrian system,” Trixie cut in hastily. “Namely, it is supremely flexible and easy to learn. There are documented cases of unicorns learning new spells simply by seeing them once, and spells can be created on the fly. This is something that cannot be done to nearly the same extent in the Concordian system.”

Seath frowned in thought, but didn’t say anything. Trixie took that as her cue to continue. “In the Concordian system, learning spells is a two step process. One must first learn the underlying framework behind that family of spell, all of which have been worked out in exacting detail by prior researchers. Generally, each framework deals with a specific cluster of desired effects, and it is within that cluster of effects where visualization and intent come into play. You picture the specific effect, and enter that image into the framework, which takes care of most of the work directing the magic for the desired effect. As a result, while the base framework may be difficult to alter or create, it can then be applied to a vast array of circumstances. Similar to a magical skeleton key, if you will.”

 

Once Trixie was finished with the speech, which she’d apparently been reciting from memory, she smiled up at Seath expectantly. “Correct?”

Seath rumbled out a thoughtful hum. “It’s an intuitive style of magic, flexible yet utilitarian, definitely solid and frankly quite impressive...” He shook his head slowly. “And totally foreign to me.”

Trixie and Twilight’s jaws dropped open in shock. “W-what?!” Trixie squawked in disbelief.

“Concordian magic is a rigorous, scientific process.” Seath lectured. “Each step of a spell is meticulously constructed, formed from the base up in such a manner that each individual spell is unique to the caster. The reason why Runic magic is so popular is that it makes magic easily recordable and analyzable by all observing it. The idea of allowing instinct and chance to take a part in magic is... quite frankly, reckless.”

Trixie worked her jaw helplessly. “Bu- But Trixie-! This was the magic that Trixie was taught since she was a child, the one she’s always researched! How could it possibly be so different!?”

Twilight bowed her head in thought for a second, rubbing her chin contemplatively before blinking in realization. “Divergent evolution,” she breathed, snapping her head up to stare at Seath, who shared the same look of realization.

“Of course…” he breathed. “Two thousand years of cultural and intellectual isolation… they were probably working from an incomplete knowledge of the Concordian system, so they filled the gaps with Equestrian magical theory.”

“An unrecorded, completely foreign arcane methodology that perfectly melds intellect and intent into a singular expression of will upon the fabric of reality!” Twilight squeed. “Can you imagine the possibilities!?”

“So many different laws and treatises... ooooh, to finally break the Dilopian Limit!”

“Over a dozen theories, at the least, the  _least!”_

Trixie snapped her gaze back and forth between Seath and Twilight, shrinking in on herself as they suddenly snapped their manic gazes towards her, identical gleeful grins adorning their mouths.

“Uhhh... Trixie... thinks she left the stove on...” The mare started to slowly inch backwards.

Almost instantly, Seath snapped his claws, causing the doors to the room to slam shut with a heart-dropping BANG!

“You interrogate, I’ll take notes.” Twilight drooled.

Seath’s grin displayed every last one of his menacing fangs. “With pleasure.”

Trixie’s pupils shrank to pinpricks. “Mother.”

Throughout the library, patrons glanced up as an ear-splitting shriek of terror coursed through the halls before shrugging and returning to their ministrations.

 

**-o-**

 

One of the lasting mysteries of the victory party would be where Pinkie Pie had found an entire travelling carnival, persuaded them to set up shop in Vitrum, and gotten them to the crystal city, all in the span of seconds. Scholar, when asked, merely shrugged it off with a “It’s Chaos; I don’t gotta explain shit.”

The reaction was shared by most of the partygoers. None of them cared how the carnival had gotten there. All they cared about was that it was there, and now they could blow their money on greasy food, prize games that were probably rigged, and a half-dozen rides, including a small (and unimpressive) roller coaster.

Spike scanned each booth as he passed by, looking for a plushie Rarity might like, all while munching on a funnel cake topped with whipped cream, powdered rubies, and candied strawberries.

“Alright, let’s see...” Spike nibbled on his funnel cake thoughtfully. “Bottle rings? Too hard. Water shooter? Ugh, no, don’t want to get wet, plus it’s way too easy. Ball toss?” He watched as a pegasus stallion whiffed on his last ball before walking off in a huff. The booth owner had a smug grin on his face the whole time. “Yeah, that’ll do it. Not to hard, not to easy, and that guy needs to be taken down a peg.”

“He’s actually earned the grin. After all, it takes some ingenuity to hide runes on the bases of clear bottles instead of just using glue.”

“Yeah, but still, that’s no reason to be a big headed as-YEARGH!” Spike jumped almost five feet in the air in shock, on account of how the space to his left had  _not_  been occupied ten seconds ago.

Veronica rolled her eyes in exasperation. “Was that really necessary?” She groaned.

“That’s my line!” Spike snapped back. “You couldn’t just walk up and tap me on the shoulder like a normal person?”

“I’m an  _assassin!_ If I let everyone know where I was at all times, I’d be out of a job!” Veronica shot back.

“Well maybe if your family weren’t completely and utterly psychotic, I wouldn’t be so freaked out by you!” The dragon growled.

“My  _family_  is psychotic,  _I’m_  the normal one! Why does everyone always forget that!?” She demanded.

Spike opened his mouth to respond, then thought better of it. “Nah, too easy, plus I want to live. So, what do you want, anyway? That plushie isn’t going to win itself.”

“Yes, because  _every_  mare wants a four-foot stuffed diamond-dragon.” Veronica muttered sarcastically. “Anyways, you have more pressing matters to attend to. Scholar wants a word with you.”

Spike shot a flat glare at the black-clad homunculus. “So your sadistic sociopath of a father who’s the greatest enemy of my home nation wants to ‘have a word with me’. Yeah, like that’s not suspicious at all. I’ll pass, thanks.”

Turning his back on the homunculus, Spike started for the ball-throwing booth again. He didn’t go two steps before Veronica flashed back in front of him.

“Let me clarify my job description.” Veronica intoned darkly. “I’m primarily an assassin, meaning I kill whoever Scholar thinks needs to be killed, no matter what, but in all honesty I like to think of myself as an overachiever. I do  _whatever_  Scholar needs me to do, make sure that he gets what he needs. So when he says he wants to speak to you, what makes you think that  _your_  opinion is a factor?”

Spike swallowed heavily before managing to redouble his glare. “You know, it’s things like  _this_  that make people doubt your position as a ‘good guy’, you know that, right?”

“Duly noted. Follow me.”

Grumbling darkly, Spike finished his funnel cake as he followed Veronica through the teeming tide of equinity in a direction vaguely towards the center of the city.

“So, uh, where are we going, exactly?” Spike asked as they meandered around what seemed to be an entire hoofwrestling tournament.

“Scholar will be meeting you at Concord Spire,” Veronica answered. At his blank look, she elaborated. “The big palace-tower in the center of the city.”

“Oh, heh, right...” The drake scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

Veronica rolled her eyes before suddenly slowing down and shoving Spike into an alcove. “In here.”

“Wha-hey!” Spike protested as he stumbled into a windowsill. “I thought that we were supposed to be going to... the...” He trailed off as he caught sight of the cityscape sprawled out below the window.

Veronica cast a disinterested look out the window before shrugging. “Bolthole network spread across Vitrum. It’s not that impressive, to be honest. Come on, this way.”

Spike hastily tore his gaze away from the impressive sight and hastily followed Veronica down the winding crystal hallways, ultimately reaching a large pair of slightly cracked-open double doors, from which both light and voices were streaming out.

The dragon made to enter the door, but was halted by Veronica’s outstretched arm.

“-don’t care  _how_  much this benefits us, Scholar, it’s  _still_  amoral!” A familiar female voice exclaimed indignantly.

“Oh lighten up, will you? I’m not going to hurt him!” An even more familiar male voice shot back.

“Nooo, you’re just going to cause him mental and emotional trauma!”

“Solely for his benefit!”

“And you think that makes things  _better!?”_

“Doesn’t it!?”

_“Sometimes I can’t believe you’re my father!”_

Veronica flinched and groaned as she dragged a hand down her face. “Oh perfect, Fran and Scholar are arguing over ethical limits again. I’d better break this up before Fran tries to strangle him and winds up drinking herself to sleep for a week over breaking her ‘do no harm’ oath.”

“Uuuh...” Spike slowly stuck up his claw.

“Do no  _unnecessary_ harm, you know what I mean.” Veronica grumbled before pushing the doors open hard enough to cause a loud BANG! “Pardon me!” She announced.

_“WHAT!?”_  Scholar and Fran snapped furiously, breaking the glares they’d been directing at one another.

“I brought the drake.” She jabbed her thumb at Spike.

The human and pseudo-human glanced at one another before composing themselves, grumbling darkly as they readjusted their clothing. “Show him in.” Scholar grumbled.

Spike glanced nervously at Veronica, who jerked her head forwards expectantly. He gingerly poked his head into the room, hesitantly darting his gaze between the creator and the creation.

Scholar cocked an eyebrow before grimacing and kneading the bridge of his nose. “How much did he hear?”

“Mental and emotional trauma.” Veronica deadpanned.

“Oh for the love of-!” He moaned, slamming the heel of his palm into his forehead. “Look, Spike, it’s neither personal, nor as bad as it sounds. My  _dearly beloved daughter,”_  he ground the words out while shooting a glare at Fran. “Is overreacting. You’ll be fine, I promise.”

_“Over-!”_  Fran hissed incredulously before cutting herself off with a raised hand. “You know what? Fine, fine. But this is on  _your_  head, got it?” She pinned Scholar with a glare.

Scholar shook his head in exasperation. “Whatever. Just... get in here please. There’s something very important that I’ve got to discuss with you.”

Spike swallowed heavily before hesitantly stepping into the room.

“Great, thanks. And Veronica-?”

“Guard duty?” Veronica asked flatly.

“Is that a problem or...?”

“No, no, it’s fine...” She waved his concerns off. “The high quality of prisoners makes up for it. Besides, festivals aren’t for me. Enjoy whatever game you’re playing.” And with that, she blurred out of sight.

Scholar blinked in surprise before shrugging indifferently. “Well, alright then. Now then, Fran, if you wouldn’t mind...?”

Fran glared at Scholar furiously for a second before relenting with a weary sigh. “I actually kind of do, but fine.” She marched up to Spike and knelt down in front of him as she fished a tongue depressor out of her labcoat. “Say ‘Ah’.”

Spike blinked in confusion. “Wha-AGH!” He spluttered in protest as Fran stuck the piece of wood into his mouth and held his mouth open, intently inspecting it with a light another one of her hands procured.

“Alright, let’s see...” She mused. Before Spike could react, another of her hands darted out and tapped his throat, causing Spike to involuntarily heave and burp up a flare of flames. Fran jerked her tongue depressor out instantly, intently inspecting the green flames burning on the tip of wood with a few quickly-conjured arrays.

“Hmm... interesting...” Fran muttered as she inspected the results..

“Hey!” Spike protested as he rubbed his throat. “What do you think you’re doing!?”

“Look into this, please.” Fran droned, holding up a hand and generating a bright glyph array.

Spike blinked and rubbed his eyes as the array flashed and resolved into a mirrored image of what he was pretty sure was his own skull. Wow, that was some thick bone around his brain... He  _really_  hoped this didn’t say bad things about him.

“Alright, let’s see...” Fran started fiddling with the array, adjusting the angles and zoom. “Normal, normal, norm-Ooooooh dear that’s not right...” Fran trailed off uncomfortably as she stared at an enlarged section of flesh.

“What, what is it?  _What’s wrong with me!?”_  Spike grabbed her collar and started shaking her frantically.

“No-o-o-othing!” Fran managed to get out, prying Spike off of her with two of her hands. “You’re fine, perfectly healthy!” She tried to reassure him with a wide smile.

“ _Are you kidding me!?”_  Spike demanded.

Fran winced and rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. “Uh...”

“Well, Fran?” Scholar asked expectantly.

Fran rolled her eyes and shot a dark look at Scholar. “Alright, so your hypothesis was correct to a T. Can I go now?”

“You know why I need you to stick around a little longer.” Scholar folded his arms firmly.

Fran grumbled darkly in response, but nonetheless stood up and walked towards the back of the room. “I’ll have no more part in this than I need to. In the meantime, I’ll be going over those implants you sent me.” And with that, she pulled a stone tablet out of her jacket and went to work.

Scholar stared at her flatly for a second before shaking his head and sighing. “Kids these days... Well, anyways...” He focused on Spike. “Let’s talk.”

“About  _what!?”_  Spike demanded furiously. “What was she talking about? What hypothesis? What’s wrong with me? What do you _want_  with me!?”

Scholar stared at him blankly for a moment before shrugging. “Alright then... let me start with a question. Spike...” The human readjusted his glasses. “Have you ever thought that you look a bit... weird? In terms of being a dragon I mean.”

Spike froze instantly, his every muscle locking up. After a second, he swallowed heavily and looked away. “W-what do you mean?” He stammered uneasily.

Scholar sighed and rolled his eyes. “Come on, Spike, you’re abnormal and you know it. You don’t have any wings, I bet you’ve barely even grown since you were hatched...”

“P-ponies don’t know a lot about dragons,” the young drake stammered out. “T-Twilight said it could be because I’m part of a subspecies, that this could-  _is_  normal. I-I mean...” He looked around uneasily, his voice indicating that Scholar wasn’t the only one he was trying to convince. “It’s been two thousand years, I-I bet that dragons have evolved a lot since then... right?”

Scholar stared at him flatly before letting out a heavy sigh. “Spike... with a lot of other species in this world, you’d be right. But... not with the long-lived ones. Not with the ones whose members can live several centuries or even millennia at a time. Not with the bigger arboreals, not with the titans, not with the island-turtles... and not with the dragons. Evolution can’t even begin to scratch you, not on anything short of geologic timescales.”

Spike swallowed heavily. “But... what about... subspecies?”

Scholar shrugged helplessly. “Smallest subspecies of wingless pygmy dragon is about as tall as I am. And they  _definitely_  do not have your musculature,  _or_  skeletal structure for that matter. The fact of the matter is... you’re unique, Spike. The only dragon like you is you.”

Spike worked his jaw helplessly for a second before biting his lip and bowing his head. “What’s... wrong with me?” He ground out.

Scholar glanced back at Fran, who met his gaze with a sharp glare before sighing wearily and standing up. She waved her hand, conjuring up a translucent image of a brain. “Biological growth in most organics beings, dragons included, is controlled via a section of the brain known as the pituitary gland. It secretes a cocktail of growth hormones, some specific to each species and some common across many. These hormones, in turn, are what induce the tissues and growth plates of the bones to grow. If the any of these hormones are not produced, the growth of the being in question will be stunted without regular injections from an outside source.”

_“This,”_  she enlarged a section of the brain, highlighting a pair of fleshy bulbs. “Is a healthy draconic pituitary gland. And  _this,”_  the image was replaced with a pair of shriveled...  _somethings._  “Is  _your_  pituitary gland. As you can see... it’s not healthy, by most anyone’s definition of the word. I’m sorry.”

Spike’s mouth ran dry as he stared at the horrific image before him. “...how?” He finally managed to whisper.

Fran cleared her throat uncomfortably, refusing to look Spike in the eye, prompting Scholar to step forwards. “The reason is twofold.” He explained quietly. “The first is nutrients. Spike... what do you think a dragon’s diet consists of?”

The drake stared at him blankly before speaking. “I... c-crystals?” He barely kept himself from crying when Scholar shook his head.

“It’s a critical part of your diet, and theoretically you  _can_  survive on them indefinitely sure, but... It’s just  _one_ part. You see...” The Rune Keeper rubbed the back of his head before groaning miserably. “There’s no easy way of saying this, so I’ll just come right out with it: Carnivore.”

Spike’s claws dug into the palms of his hand.

“Sorry, kid, but it’s true.” Scholar shrugged apologetically. “Dragons need iron and protein something fierce. At  _best_ , dragons are low-end omnivores who can eat fruits and vegetables. But no matter how you cut it, the fact is that you need meat to function.”

A small cloud of smoke puffed out as Spike took a deep breath and released it. When he spoke, his voice was filled with barely-controlled anger. “And... the second reason?”

“Well...” Scholar grimaced. “As you can imagine, dragons are highly-magical creatures. It courses through their veins, helps them maintain their size and fuel their fire. It’s as intrinsic to them as blood. It’s the whole reason why you and many other species chow down on crystals. See...” He opened his grimoire and projected an image of a spike of quartz. “Crystals are natural energy absorbers. It’s... difficult to explain, a lot of quantum physics is involved, but the long and short of it is that on an energy-level, crystals are just a  _little_  bit alive. Normally, they absorb magic like nobody’s business, but... nowadays… Well...”

Scholar spread his hands helplessly.

“There isn’t a lot of magic in the air, is there?”

Spike’s entire body twitched once in a single, rage-filled spasm as his mind forcibly made a connection he had  _not_  been wanting to make.

“When little dragons want to get big and strong...” He snarled out through his fangs. “They eat jewels and gems all day long.”

Fran winced in sympathy, while Scholar groaned and dragged his hand down his face. “Ohhhh crap.”

“She...  _knew...”_  Spike hissed, fire flaring through his fangs.

“If it’s any consolation,” Fran offered gently. “Celestia wouldn’t have done it without a very good reason.”

“Fran’s right.” Scholar nodded in agreement. “I mean, think about it: Twilight Sparkle hatched and raised you from what I’ve been told, right? Well, dragons grow fast, and I doubt a filly would be able to successfully raise a four-foot long-!”

“Stop. Talking.” Spike growled.

Fran slapped three of her hands over Scholar’s mouth at once.

“What do you want from me?” He demanded, fury rumbling beneath his words.

Fran and Scholar momentarily glanced at each. “Uhhh...” Fran slowly raised a finger.

“ _Don’t_  deny it!” Spike roared. “You just  _poisoned_  every single memory of my childhood that even  _remotely_  involved Celestia. Either your dad’s a sadistic  _fuck_  who gets off on the misery of others, or he wants something from me!”

Scholar worked Fran’s hands off of his mouth and gave Spike a flat look. “Let’s start with what  _I_  can give  _you:_  Your size, your wings, and fire worthy of a steel-mill.”

Spike blinked at Scholar in shock before slowly calming down. “You... I... you can do that? For real?”

“Yes, I can.” Scholar nodded in confirmation, while Fran glared at him and slowly backed away. “But first...” He snapped his Lexicon open and drew an array out of the pages. The circle of runes spun slowly as an image coalesced within the array’s boundaries, showing...

“Rarity!?” Spike sputtered in disbelief as he watched the beautiful white unicorn gush over a painting. “W-what-!?”

“You see Spike, I’ve decided to make a bit of a... tactical decision.” Scholar lectured in an absent-minded manner while he inspected the pages of his book. “See, while I  _doubt_  that Celestia will let the Elements of Harmony out of their vault in Canterlot for fear of me getting them, that’s...” He shook his head somberly. “Well, that’s just not a risk I can take. As such, I need to eliminate one of the Element Bearers, and the easiest one to get rid of is her. Sorry, Spike.”

“WHAT!?” Spike yelled in horror. “N-no, you can’t  _do that!”_

“Can, will,  _have_.” Scholar rebutted with a frigid glance. “I already sent the order. Priscilla will be disposing of her in five, four, t-”

_“NO!”_  Spike screamed, flinging himself at Scholar’s feet. “Y-y-you can’t do this, please,  _please!”_  He begged frantically as he clawed at his robes. “I’ll do anything you want, anything, just please,  _please don’t hurt-!”_

Scholar suddenly knelt down and snapped his fingers in front of Spike’s eyes, unleashing a small flurry of runes and a bright flash of light.

Spike’s eyes unfocused, causing him to let go of Scholar’s robes. “Vvawha...?” He slurred as he staggered to his feet, casting his gaze around in confuzzlement.

“What the  _hell?”_  Scholar demanded in disbelief as he stared at Spike in confusion, the image of Rarity fading into oblivion. “This doesn’t make any sense! He’s  _infatuated_  with her, he shouldn’t have-!”

“Shouldn’t have  _what,_  Scholar?” Fran demanded frigidly. “Broken down? Pleaded for her  _life,_ like any person would do for a loved one?”

“Yes!” Scholar flung his arms wide as he started to pace about furiously, tearing at his hair in frustration. “This isn’t right! You know what should have happened! His reaction should have been  _completely_  different! This goes against my hypothesis  _entirely!”_

Fran’s mouth flapped helplessly for a second as she stared at her creator in disbelief. Finally, she flung her arms up in surrender. “I’m done. I. Am. Done.” She marched up to Scholar and poked him furiously in the chest. “I am going back to my manor, so that I can do my _job,_  practicing medicine and actually  _helping_  people. Next time you need a  _quack_  to help you tear a person’s mind apart for your  _political agenda?”_  She grabbed his collar and shoved her irate face in his.  _“Find someone else.”_

And with that, she shoved him back and stormed out of the room in high dudgeon.

Scholar stared after her in disbelief before sighing and adjusting his robes. “Kids these days...”

Spike blinked and shook his head furiously as he cleared the haze from his mind. “Wait, wha... what just happened? I-I think I just zoned out...”

Scholar regarded the young drake wearily, starting to open his mouth before pausing in thought. He slowly closed his mouth as he rubbed his jaw, his mind whirling. Finally, he looked back at Spike, an inquisitive glimmer in his glasses. “I was just about to inform you of a... tactical decision I made.”

“Huh?” Spike stared at him in confusion. “W-what do you mean?”

“Well, see, here’s the thing...” Scholar sighed heavily as he prompted the lingering array to display Twilight Sparkle. “Twilight Sparkle... I know she’s innocent in all of this, truly, but... well,  she’s Celestia’s student, and as such her presence here is a dangerous liabili-!”

SLAM!

“-GAH!” Scholar wheezed as ten tons of enraged dragon-fist pinned him to the wall of the chamber.

**“DON’T YOU DARE HURT HER!”** Spike bellowed in apocalyptic fury, his gargantuan mass filling the room as he shoved his carriage-sized head at Scholar.  **“NEVER NEVER** _ **NEVER**_ **HURT HER! OR I’LL KILL YOU, YOU BASTARD!** _ **I’LL KILL YOU!”**_

“H-hah!” Scholar managed to bite out through a pained grin. “I  _knew_  my hypothesis was right! Instinctive emergency transformation brought on to protect a loved one,  _suck it_  Fran!” Spike’s bloodthirsty growling snapped Scholar back to the present. “Oh, yeah, right, dragon. Well, Spike, you can suck on  _this!”_  He snapped one of his hands out of Spike’s grip and snapped his fingers in front of the dragon’s eyes, conjuring an all-out array of runes that flashed as bright as a magnesium flare.

Spike’s only reaction was to redouble his glaring and growling.

Scholar blinked in confusion and dawning horror before snapping his fingers rapid-fire as he tried to work his book out from Spike’s grip. This lasted all the way until Spike squeezed Scholar harshly, causing him to let out a squeak of pain. “Oh crap...” He noted with increasing concern as his ribs started to creak alarmingly. “Uhh... heheheh...” He grinned winningly. “C-come on Spike! You wouldn’t roast a quasi-innocent old-man, would you!?”

Spike’s only response was to slowly open his jaws, revealing the blistering inferno at the base of his gullet.

Scholar’s pupils shrank to pinpricks. “Ohfuckme... Fran? Little in over my head here Fran, I need some help here! Fran? Fran!” He squawked with steadily increasing panic as he felt the temperature ramp up by a significant factor. “DAMN IT FRAN,  _HELP ME!”_

Spike inhaled a massive lungful of air... then roared in pain and outrage as he felt a series of sharp pinpricks along the length of his spine. He reached back to dislodge this new annoyance and- why was his vision going black along the edges?

THUMP!

Awareness returned slowly to Spike as loud, piercing noises intruded on his blissful sleep. Very familiar piercing noises. Eh, probably Twilight at the end of an all-nighter yelling at her books. Happened often enough.

“- cannot believe you thought this was a good idea! What were you thinking, you moron!?  _Were_  you thinking!?”

… That didn’t sound like Twilight.

“Oh come on, you can’t  _really_  be that mad! Ow! Okay, yes, you can be! But  _why?!_ ”

“You drove an adolescent dragon into a bloodthirsty rampage for the sake of proving a  _hypothesis!”_

“A very  _important_  hypothesis, critical to the war eff-!  _GAH THAT WAS MY DAMN RIB!”_

“Oh, don’t be a baby. Ribs grow back.”

“THE ABSOLUTE HELL THEY DO!”

“Well, they do with the appropriate modifications at any rate,  _which I am seriously considering performing right here, right now, without anesthesia_.”

Spike announced his return to consciousness with a pained groan, rubbing his temple in an effort to ease his throbbing headache. “What... hit me?”

“Three liters of propofol injected directly into several major arteries that run along your spine.” Fran deadpanned. “How do you feel?”

“Uhh... a little fuzzy...” Spike managed to groan out. “What happened to me?”

“Heh, funny story...”

“Bite this.”

“Say wha-?”

CRACK!

“GAGH- YOW! YOU PUT MY HAND IN MY MOUTH! WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT!?”

“Funny story.”

“Yeah yeah...” Scholar spat furiously before sighing heavily. “Alright, fine. I tricked you into thinking I was going to have Twilight killed so that you would fly into an extreme rage. The emotional high kickstarted your magic and, well, basically made you grow straight to full size in one go. Of course, seeing how the mass was magically-created, once the emotional high, and thus the magic, was gone you shrank back to your normal size. Satisfied?” The last word was spat at Fran.

“No.” She crossed her arms definitively.

“NO!” Spike yelled. “You did  _what!?”_

“Look, will the both of you calm down!?” Scholar demanded as worked his way back to his feet. “This was  _completely_  necessary! Look!” He snapped the Lexicon open and caused an array to coalesce above its pages. This array displayed a number of lines that were shifting in size, color and length. “See this? I was recording your magical signature the entire time. I was lucky to actually  _get_  anything, seeing how you seem to be ludicrously resistant to magic, probably because of how much harmony you’ve ingested over the years. Now I  _know_  what happens in your body whenever that kind of a transformation occurs. And now, I can start looking into a way to induce it  _without_  the emotional high, as well as making it permanent.”

Spike stared at Scholar wordlessly for a second before swallowing heavily. “Y-you can do that?” He asked quietly.

Scholar nodded definitively. “Yes, I could...” He snapped his book shut, dismissing the array. “But there’s a catch.” The human scowled the second the drake did. “Hey, don’t look at me like I’m some kind of monster! The country  _I’m_ responsible for is going to fight a  _war!_  A very uneven, one-sided war at that! Every resource is precious to us, time especially, so as such I can’t spend even so much as a  _second_  of what little time we have without thoroughly justifying it! I’d love to make this a charity case for you, and in any other situation I would, but I don’t have that luxury! If I do this, then it has to be because it’s worth my while! Not just for me, but for every person who’s counting on me!”

Spike ground his fangs angrily for a second before crossing his arms in defiance. “I’m not going to join your stupid academy.”

This prompted Scholar to scoff and roll his eyes. “Please, don’t flatter yourself. You’ve got some impressive power, eating gems’ll do that, but no. What I want from you is... information. You control the correspondence that runs between Twilight and Celestia, yes? All I want is a... peek at it.”

“You want me to  _spy_  on Twilight!? Are you insane!?” Spike demanded furiously.

“Not on Twilight, you dodo drake, on Celestia!” Scholar flung his arms out in frustration. “I could give a damn about Twilight, what I want to know is what Celestia knows! Just-!” Scholar kneaded the bridge of his nose and took a deep, calming sigh before continuing. “Look, it’s nothing big, alright? I just want to plant a bug in the spell that enchants your fire. That way, whenever the link is used, a copy of whatever is being sent through is sent to me.

“The partnership would last until I managed to find a cure for your... issues. Once I fix you, I’ll remove the bug and you’ll be scott-free. And believe me, I won’t even be  _able_  to lollygag because if I did,  _Fran_  here would make me pay for it.” Scholar jabbed his thumb at his daughter.

“That I most  _certainly_  would.” Fran emphasized darkly.

“So, Spike...” Scholar eyed the young dragon curiously. “What do you think?”

Spike looked the human mage up and down for a second before scowling darkly. “Personally, I think you’re a real piece of work.”

Scholar blinked flatly. “Excuse me?”

“I mean, seriously? You want my help, you’ve got an, uh, incentive in mind, and you don’t even think to just ask me about all this?!” The drake waved his claws energetically. “I mean, you could’ve just said ‘Hey, Spike, I could use your help on something, and I’ll even offer to make you big and strong, I just need to test something real quickly.’ But no, instead you had to use this convoluted scheme to test your hypothesis, in the process scarring me for life and pissing off your daughter! So, are you an idiot or just that much of an insensitive bastard?! Personally, I’m leaning towards the latter!”

Scholar stared blankly at the young dragon in heavy silence for what seemed like eternity.

Fran, meanwhile, swallowed heavily as she slowly backed away from her progenitor. “Ooooh dear...”

Spike blinked at her in confusion...

**“That was a mistake.”**

Until his focus was snapped back to Scholar, who was looming over him menacingly. His entire being radiated malice and raw, unadulterated rage, the runes floating around him flashing and zipping about angrily, while his glasses shone like twin suns.

**“Let me be clear,** _ **Spike.”**_ Scholar spat, his voice echoing menacingly.  **“I don’t** _ **choose**_ **to do what I do. I HAVE TO!”**  The boom in volume caused Spike to stumble back in fear, a motion that Scholar was swift to follow.  **“DO YOU THINK THAT THIS IS AN EASY JOB, HM? MANAGING THE LIVES OF HUNDREDS, OF THOUSANDS, ALL DEPENDING on YOU, ALL NEEDING YOUR GUIDANCE!? I HAVE HELPED THESE PEOPLE, I** _ **PROTECT**_ **THESE PEOPLE! I HAVE DEVOTED MY LIFE TO ENSURING THAT THEIR LIVES ARE HAPPY ONES, THAT THEIR LIVES ARE** _ **PEACEFUL**_ **ONES! I WILL DO** _ **ANYTHING**_ **TO ACHIEVE THAT GOAL, AND IF ALL I MUST DO TO ACHIEVE THAT END IS COMMIT A FEW MORALLY QUESTIONABLE ACTS, SO BE IT!”**

“B-but you’ve done things as bad as the Princesses! As bad as the people you’re fighting!” Spike protested weakly.

**“DO YOU THINK I NEEDED YOUR PERMISSION TO IMPLANT THAT BUG!?”**  Scholar demanded.  **“I COULD HAVE SLIPPED IT IN YOU AT ANY TIME AND YOU WOULD HAVE BEEN NONE THE WISER! I** _ **CHOSE**_ **TO GIVE YOU A CHOICE! I** _ **CHOSE**_ **TO RESPECT IT, I CHOSE TO POSSIBLY LOSE OUT ON A POSSIBLE WAY TO WIN THIS WAR BY DOING THINGS THE 'RIGHT WAY'! YOU WANT A PERFECT WORLD? A WORLD WHERE EVERYTHING IS SUNSHINE AND RAINBOWS AND HAPPINESS?! THEN FIND A WAY TO ANOTHER WORLD, BECAUSE IT’S SURE AS HELL NOT THIS ONE, AND IT’S NOT ANY OF THE ONES NEARBY! I’M NOT THE GOOD GUY HERE, YOU LITTLE WHELP! I’VE NEVER PRETENDED TO BE THE GOOD GUY, NEVER** _ **TRIED**_ **TO BE THE GOOD GUY! I’VE JUST TRIED TO BE THE GUY WHO WINS, JUST LIKE EVERY OTHER PERSON ON THIS WORLD! AND IF YOU THINK THAT YOU CAN LECTURE ME FOR** _ **THAT,**_ **THEN SCREW-** GAGH!”

Scholar suddenly cut himself off with a cry of pain as he stumbled back, his magic dying as he clutched at his upper-right arm.

Fran hastily ran up to him and started running arrays over his arm, but he waved her off in favor of glaring down at Spike. “I don’t have time...” He hissed. “To debate ethics and morality with a  _child_  whose age is only a  _fraction_  of my own. I need an answer. Are you in... or out?”

Spike stared up at the human fearfully, a million thoughts running through his mind. Finally... he bowed his head and looked away. “I...” He swallowed heavily. “I will  _never_  hurt Twilight. Or her friends. They’re... they’re my family.”

Scholar stared down at him impassively for a second before snorting and striding past him. “Then so be it. A venture lost and time irreversibly wasted. If you’ll excuse me, I have matters to attend to. Fran will escort you out. Oh, and Spike?” He froze in the doorway, glancing over his shoulder at the drake. “Enjoy the party. I imagine it’ll be the last one that Vitrum will be enjoying for a long, long time.”

And with that, Scholar left the room, leaving Spike to stare into the dark.


	28. Chapter 28. As One Storm Passes...

The dungeons of Vitrum, located beneath even the ever-expansive Subarchives, could be described in a single word: imposing. A massive warren of vaulted crystalline caverns, located so deep that they were noticeably warmed by geothermal energy, they were at once unfathomably large and nightmarishly claustrophobic, due to the creeping darkness that pressed in on the barely-lit tunnels.

In many more, they could be described as inescapable, terrifying, nightmarish... and monotonous.

For all that the atmosphere of the dungeons was horrific, the fact remained that the vast, extensive labyrinth of crystal was perfectly devoid of detail, uniform to a T. From the outside, every corridor looked like the other, every door and cell appeared the same. Even if one were to somehow figure out how to escape their cells, that ‘one’ would be liable to spend eternity (or the vast majority of it) wandering aimlessly.

Of course, that assumed said ‘one’ could manage to slip out of their personally-tailored bindings, whether they be chains latched to the ceiling, walls and/or floor, arrays wound around them like an arcane gordian knot, or some unholy yet sickeningly beautiful combination of the two. And that was all without mentioning how the cell’s exits were not apparent, blending into the translucent walls.

Unsurprisingly, more than one prisoner had gone mad over the centuries. Few tears had been shed over them.

Princess Mi Amore Cadenza was currently being subjected to the full suite of her prison’s capabilities: her wings, limbs, hooves, neck, barrel and horn were all equally ensnared in both a myriad of glyph-engraved mana constructs and enough chains to supply the Manehattan harbor’s needs for the next year and still have plenty left over for a full dozen goths.

However, for all that she was restrained, it appeared that none of it was truly necessary. At least, not if her dejected expression and the way she allowed herself to hang limply by the chains was anything to go by.

“Cadance.”

A voice prompted Cadance to glance upwards slightly, barely registering Scholar, Seath and Chrysalis as they stood arrayed before her, watching her with carefully neutral expressions.

“I know that I’m gong to most likely regret this...” Scholar sighed as he hung his head. “But... do you have  _any_  last words?” His long-suffering tone  _plainly_  begged for a negative answer.

Unfortunately for the chief academic, his wish would not be granted as Cadance slowly lifted her head and stared at the Oligarchs with long-dead eyes.

“We did what we did... for our people...” she croaked. “It was... and always will be... that simple...”

She didn’t make a noise as Chrysalis slammed her hoof into Cadance’s throat, wrenching her head up to a full ninety degrees. Seath and Scholar could only sigh wearily as they observed the exchange.

“You  _murdered_  billions...” the changeling matriarch snarled, inches away from Cadance’s ear. “Practically  _enslaved_  countless others. Crippled our artistic and intellectual expertise to a nigh  _irreparable_  degree. Do you  _really_  think that that... that worthless  _excuse_  of an excuse will absolve you of  _anything?!_ ”

Cadance shivered in by-now-numb horror at Chrysalis’s proximity before slowly shaking her head. “It’s... not an excuse... don’t want to be excused... It’s just... fact...” Cadance sniffed as tears streamed from the corners of her eyes. “We couldn’t take it anymore... so many died... so many died every day... every  _second..._  we couldn’t... you didn’t  _care...”_

“We couldn’t  _allow_  ourselves to care, you stupid, worthless  _idealist,”_  Chrysalis hissed. “Time and time again we emphasized it. Time and time again we faced off against fools who never listened! The words that should have been like gospel to you: we.  _Are not! GODS!_  We are not omniscient! We are not omnipotent! We have neither the ability, nor the knowledge, nor the  _right_  to permanently change our world! What you did was the height of foolishness! Of stupidity! Of  _hubris!”_

Cadance sobbed weakly as she attempted to shake her head, not seeming to hear Chrysalis’ rant. “We-We never wanted to hurt them… but they didn’t stop... nobody listened, so few  _stopped…_ w-why? We begged them... we tried... we  _tried..._  why didn’t they stop…?”

Chrysalis faltered slightly. A myriad of emotions swirled within her for a moment before ultimately defaulting to rage. She swung her hoof back-

“Enough.”

-and froze at Scholar’s tone, his voice more tired, more  _exhausted_  than anything else.

“Just... just...  _enough._ ” The human held his hand up. “She’s going to be punished enough as it is. We’re already taking something irreplaceable from her. We can’t do anything else. Let’s...” Scholar hesitated for a second before letting his hand drop with a defeated sigh. “Let’s just get this over with.”

Chrysalis glared over her shoulder at Scholar for a minute before snorting and withdrawing her hoof, allowing Cadance to hang limply from her restraints once again before stepping back.

Scholar nodded at her gratefully. “Thank you.”

Chrysalis snorted darkly, refusing to look him in the eye.

The Rune Keeper glanced up at Seath. “Do it.”

The crystalline dragon huffed in agreement, raising his hands and conjuring a wide rune-circle before him. In response to Seath’s ministrations, the cell started to light up with wave after wave after wave of runes and glyphs, the light causing the shadows to dance and writhe across the crystal.

Cadance slowly tilted her head back and forth as she took in the arrays, before looking up at Seath. “Will it be painful?” she breathed.

Seath rumbled for a moment before dipping his head into a nod. “Excruciatingly so.”

A smile of fatalistic bliss wormed its way onto the Alicorn’s lips.

“Good.”

And with that, the cell was flooded with light.

 

**-o-**

 

“- and while I personally do not find their music to my tastes, I find myself continually impressed by the creativity of electronica artists.” Octavia glanced furtively back into the small crowd of ponies trailing through the snow behind them, specifically at Vinyl, who was in an animated conversation with Rainbow Dash. “Please don’t tell Vinyl I said that. She and I are roommates, and it would make her absolutely insufferable.”

Priscilla absentmindedly nodded in agreement, her mind still mulling over the music Octavia had described. “It is gratifying to know that new forms of art continue to still be created. And your opinions are safe with me, though I doubt I shall have an opportunity to share them anytime soon so long as you reside in Canterlot.”

“Oh, well, you know...” Octavia shrugged as the group started to mount another hill of snow. “What with Scholar’s declaration of not intending any harm towards we civilians, I’m certain that I can arrange to return to Vitrum some time soon. I’ll most likely listen to a few operas, share my art, so on and so forth. I’m certain that relations won’t be  _that_  bad between our nations.”

“I wouldn’t count on that, Miss Philharmonica.”

Octavia and Priscilla looked over their shoulders at the voice, the pony wincing in admonishment whereas the homunculus maintained her cool expression.

Shining Armor was glaring furiously at Priscilla, marching shoulder to shoulder with his

sister through the tundra.

“I think,” the captain stated, his tone colder than the surrounding snowfall. “That any interactions between Concordia and Equestria are going to be  _very_  tense for the foreseeable future, especially so long as my  _wife_  is unlawfully held in captivity!”

Priscilla merely rolled her eyes at the very thinly veiled accusation, which prompted a frustrated growl from Twilight. “Will you just answer us already?! What did you do with Cadance?! Where is my sister-in-law!?”

Apparently having reached the limits of her patience, the homunculus sharpened her gaze on the unicorns and rotated her scythe  _just_  enough so that the sun’s dying light glinted off it menacingly. “I kindly request that you still your tongues, lest I still them myself. Trust me when I inform you that that will  _not_  be a pleasurable experience.”

Octavia pursed her lips as the two pseudo-royal ponies followed Priscilla’s commands, albeit unwillingly. “That was... rather crude, was it not?”

Priscilla shrugged indifferently as she repositioned her weapon on her shoulder. “Mayhaps. But it was also direct. Simplicity was-” She hid a wince. “- _is_ a much sought-after virtue in Concordia.”

The earth pony musician considered this for a moment before shrugging in acceptance. “Fair enough. But nonetheless, I reiterate: Equestria is a peaceful nation. Surely some form of compromise can be achieved, no?”

Priscilla made to answer, but before she could, she and the group crested a final hill on the tundra and came within sight of the train station. She promptly froze in her steps and stared forwards, taking in the sight before her with a neutral gaze. “I believe that  _that_  should serve as an adequate response to your question,” she supplied evenly.

Octavia’s  _very_  verbose response was to choke on her own spit.

Arrayed across the snow and ice were thousands of armored ponies, equipped  _very_ differently from the usual spears and golden half-plate of the Royal Guard. Earth ponies were arrayed along the border in a line twelve ponies deep, covered head to tail in mottled brown armor arrayed with somewhat darker runes. Horseshoes with wicked spikes covered their hooves, and a sharp metal horn protruded from their helmets, which left only their eyes and some of their muzzle visible.

A glance up to the sky would reveal dozens of squadrons of pegasi. Some were equipped similarly to the earth ponies, in heavy armor liberally equipped with piercing weapons. Others wore a lighter, sky blue armor that left their wings bare but for sharp blades along their front edges. Saddlebags were draped over their backs, bulging with unseen but likely unpleasant cargo. Many of these lighter pegasi could be seen pushing storm clouds into place.

And, though not visible behind the solid wall of earth ponies, there likely stood masses of unicorns preparing combat spells.

But the army, impressive though it was, was simply window dressing for the two mares at the head of the line. Celestia and Luna stood at the forefront of the army, armor in gold and midnight blue on their bodies and a warhammer and twin sabres clutched under their respective wings, ready to be drawn and used at a moment’s notice. The alicorns, their armor and their weapons alike literally glowed with power; Celestia alone was outright melting the snow around her.

**“PRISCILLA!”** Celestia called out, Royal Canterlot Voice in full effect.  **“SURRENDER YOURSELF AND YOUR PRISONERS.”**

Grabbing her hammer with her telekinesis, Celestia lifted it in the air and smashed it, handle first, into the ground, sending a out wave of heat that melted snow for a hundred meters in each direction and raised the ambient temperature by a few dozen degrees.

**“OR BE DESTROYED.”**

The party stood stock still as they stared at the display of power in aw.

“Uh, Twilight?” Rainbow Dash whispered into her ear. “Have you ever seen Princess Celestia get like this? ‘Cause I’m not gonna lie, this is kinda scary.”

“N-No, never!” Twilight hastily stammered out before gaining a contemplative look. “Though... I  _think_ she might have done this if Blueblood had been allowed to speak for another five minutes during a budget session a few years ago. Guess I didn’t imagine that smoke coming from her throne after all...”

“Oh, this is nothing,” one of the Concordia-age ponies hissed out of the corner of his mouth. “You should have seen what she used to do whenever someone slipped up and used...” He shuddered in horror.  _“Instant tea powder.”_

“She wasn’t  _that_  bad... was she?”

“My hoof to the gods,” the pony deadpanned, holding said limb up and displaying the prosthetic latched over the end.

“You lost that to a manticore,” one of his comrades deadpanned. “A  _drunk_  manticore!”

“You know what I mean!”

Meanwhile, the homunculus who had been directly addressed was notably unperturbed. “Hmm...” Priscilla hummed, tapping her chin in thought. “Allow me to ponder my answer for a moment...”

Without warning, Priscilla spun her scythe off her shoulder and slammed the tip of its blade into the ground, causing the earth to crack and splinter as it flashfroze, a tide of cold clashing with Celestia’s heatwave and causing the border between to steam and hiss furiously.

_“Never.”_

**“BRAVE, BUT FOOLISH,”** Luna scoffed, sliding her blades from their sheathes and twirling them menacingly. **“YOU ARE IMPOSSIBLY OUTNUMBERED AND OUTPOWERED. YOU ARE A FORMIDABLE FOE, PRISCILLA, BUT FAR FROM INSURMOUNTABLE.”**

Priscilla sniffed haughtily as she wrenched her weapon from the earth and slid her finger down the blade. “I thank thee for the compliment, but the fact is that just as I am outmatched, you and yours are ill-informed. I have three advantages in my favor that serve to balance the odds.”

The diarchs stiffened as they processed the statement.  **“AND THESE WOULD BE?”** Luna demanded imperiously, not even her voice’s volume quite capable of masking her trepidation.

“Advantage the first...” Priscilla raised her free hand and spread two fingers to indicate a pair of locations before her. “Backup.”

A moment later, a pair of what appeared to be sharpened steel tree trunks impaled the areas indicated, the harsh and spiky runes engraved up and down their lengths crackling with restrained electricity.

The sisters stumbled back from the spikes in shock, swiftly following their trajectories back to their points of origin. They promptly hissed in frustration when they realized that they came from the sides of two of the surrounding mountains.

“Oh  _fuck,”_  Luna spat acridly.

 

**-o-**

 

_“Hey sis, I think they noticed us!”_

_“They don’t appear to appreciate our sharpshooting skills, do they?”_

_“No, no they do not! All the more reason to show them off even more, no?”_

_“Yes. Sister, would you mind adjusting our aims so that our next strikes will result in maximum casualties?”_

_“Done and done, Veronica! Any specific requests, Null?”_

_“Hmm... think you can point out their train cars?”_

_“Hoooold oooon... got it!”_

_“You’re the best, Nix!”_

_“And don’t you forget it!”_

 

**-o-**

 

“They have soldiers manning Outposts Kappa and Delta,” Luna hissed out of the side of her mouth at her sister.

“No, they have the Twins and  _Veronica_  manning Outposts Kappa and Delta,” Celestia corrected morbidly. “The difference between normal soldiers and those three manning the ballistae is the difference between one of our soldiers and a newborn foal.”

“Point...” the lunar sister admitted sourly.

“Advantage the second,” Priscilla spoke up, waving her free hand in the air and trailing a line of runes.

Instantly, the winds blew harsh and fierce over the tundra, howling and snapping furiously at the assembled army.

Literally. Ponies in the first line shifted nervously as spectral lupine jaws snapped shut inches from their faces. To their credit, no one bolted. To their deficit, several dozen would later be treated for frostbite on very...  _private_  parts of their anatomy.

By this point, the massive runes that lit up both through the earth below and in the clouds above were practically overkill.

Priscilla tilted her head to the side in a motion that could have been mistaken as innocent in any other situation. “Homefield advantage.”

“We are starting to see why our foes always cursed so vehemently whenever we brought the fight here...” Luna murmured with a tinge of nervousness as she contemplated the gargantuan arrays. “Never thought we’d be on the receiving end of this particular innovation. We would have been more lenient while designing it...”

Celestia, on the other hand, promptly rallied and held her head high as she glared at the construct.  **“IMPRESSIVE, BUT STILL FAR FROM ENOUGH TO DETER US. THE BATTLE WILL BE DIFFICULT, BUT WE WILL STILL TAKE YOU!”**

Priscilla waited for a moment before allowing herself a slight smirk. “Advantage the third.” With a hand, she conjured up a relatively small and simple runic array, one designed simply to shoot a ball of light into the sky, which it proceeded to do without fanfare.

For a few moments, the ball simply hung in the clouded sky, before a light gust of wind blew over the tundra. Then another, stronger. Then another. And another.

The Equestrians looked up in confusion... and promptly paled in abject horror.

“...shit.” Celestia concluded flatly.

“Indeed.” Luna swallowed in agreement.

“Oooooh boy...” Twilight pressed herself as low to the ground as she could.

Fluttershy glanced around quickly to confirm that no one was looking at her before whipping a flask out of her wing and gulping down as much as she could.

Priscilla lifted her chin haughtily at the Princesses. “Allies.”

A shadow streaked overhead once anew, this one accompanied by a fierce, triumphant roar as a silver-blue dragon soared by at impressive speed, heading straight for Vitrum. The dragon was followed by another in dull bronze, then one in bright magenta, and then another, and another, until there was a steady stream of what must have been  _hundreds_  of dragons overhead, their wingbeats sending the snow awhirl and causing the very  _air_  to ripple with sound.

The stream stretched from horizon to horizon, and as the ponies watched in stunned fear, a dozen draconic shapes broke off from the stream and started heading straight towards the gathering.

“Please tell me I’m imagining that they look familiar,” Luna squeaked in a distinctly higher-pitched voice.

The choked sound that Celestia managed to conjure was answer enough.

Before anyone could react, the dragons impacted with the earth like a cluster of meteors, each sending up a spray of snow, ice and dust. When the debris finally cleared, the Equestrian soldiers tensed furiously as they were confronted face-first with the unsurmountable truth that they were well and truly surrounded, the particularly titanic dragons looming menacingly above their ranks. Some clawed at the earth in ill-contained eagerness, snorting smoke as they eyed the soldiers, while others chose to merely glare with frigid hatred, their arms crossed and power seeming to pulse from their beings.

Three dragons had landed to surround Priscilla’s captives: a lazy-looking dragon with red scales who had smoke trailing from the corners of his mouth, a sharp and attentive green-scaled dragon, and an ancient, and thus scarred and absolutely massive, pitch-black dragon.

Priscilla nodded at the dragons in greeting. “Sorth. Franaxis. Kalurme,” she addressed to each in turn. “It is good to see you are well.”

Sorth heaved a massive, jaw-stretching yawn, loosing a small fog of smoke in the process. “Well but tired, Lady Priscilla. The journey here was long and arduous. I would not begrudge a morsel at the moment...” His lazy smile took on a particularly menacing tone as he shifted his mass to loom over the group. “Particularly this  _familiar_  one here. Remember me,  _little pony?_ ”

Fluttershy shivered in terror as she stared up at the dragon,  _wishing_  she’d had a better proof in her flask. “H-h-hell- _HURK!”_  She hacked and wheezed as the dragon engulfed her in a cloud of smoke.

“Do be quiet, little pony,” Sorth snarled, smoke billowing from his  _everything_ as he loomed over her, the plume obscuring his form and making him appear more demonic than draconic. “It is taking all of my self-control to keep myself from smoking you alive for ousting me from my roost.”

“For once, Sorth, we are in agreement,” Franaxis sneered, his emerald scales glinting as he eyed another member of the party.

Spike shivered and shrank under the dragon’s glare. “Ah... h-h-hey big guy. Long time no see... h-how’s your horde doing?”

The green drake’s leer grew as he flicked his tail, causing his entire body to become in what appeared to be a suit of scaled armor, a million million spikes and blades covering his body entirely.  _“Smaller.”_

“Ah crud...”

As for Kalurme, the obsidian dragon merely chuckled menacingly as he spread his arms wide. “Ahhh, Celestia! Luna! My dears, it has been _far_  too long!” he addressed the alicorns in what could almost pass as a jovial tone. “I’ve been waiting for this day for a long,  _long_  time.”

Luna swallowed heavily as she stared up at the dragon, her swords faltering slightly in her magic. “H-Hello Kalurme. We have... missed you...”

Kalurme responded with a harsh, dry laugh. “Ahhh, but nowhere near as much as I have missed you. I have been eagerly awaiting this day for...  _centuries...”_  The dragon hissed the word out. In the process, his features started to blur and fade out, his body becoming a silhouette of black. Said silhouette then started to... ‘open up’ for lack of a better word, becoming pockmarked with eyes and fang-filled maws.

**“The struggle to contain my enthusiasm has been...”** The silhouette sucked in a harsh, raspy breath.  ** _“Unbearable...”_**

Celestia shivered at the display, but rallied nevertheless, hastily sheathing her hammer as the rest of the dragons started to show their own unique abilities, with Luna following suit moments after. “Alright, Priscilla, you’ve made your point,” she ground out, unable keep a small note of fear from creeping into her voice. “Just... just have them stand down.”

Twilight gaped at the display in shock, incapable of processing what she was witnessing. “P-Princess Celestia is... surrendering?”

“I don’t think she has much of a choice, Twilight,” Shining Armor stated grimly, eyeing the dragons nervously. “I’ve heard rumors of these things. Elder Dragons. They’re supposed to be as old as time itself...”

“A bit prosey, but essentially correct,” one of the soldiers supplied nervously. “Elder Dragons are dragons who are really, really,  _really_  old. As in, I  _recognize_  a lot of these guys old. And they were still old back then too. An Oligarch can beat one, sure, but a dozen at once?” the soldier shook his head flatly. “It’d be a long, drawn out fight and it’d be tough, but they’d win. Or at least, they’d live. Can’t say the same about us, though...”

“I’m glad we can talk like civilized beings, Celestia,” Priscilla replied. “Sorth, Franaxis, could you step back a little, please? I don’t want them to be too nervous.”

The dragons snorted in response, but complied nevertheless, backing away from the ponies.

**“And what about me?”**  Kalurme rasped as the other two slunk back a few feet.

“You may stay. It would not do to be  _too_  lenient.”

The shadow dragon grinned, displaying every sharp fang in his maw.  ** _“Excellent.”_**

Nodding, Priscilla turned back to Celestia. “I came here to deliver a few missives from my father, and also send these ponies-” And with that she swept her hand over the small crowd behind her. “Back to Equestria. As you can see, they are unharmed.”

Celestia nodded curtly, acknowledging the point. “What does Seath wish to tell me?”

“First. Mi Amore Cadenza has been tried under Concordian law, and been found guilty of Xenocide, Grand Treason against Concordia, and Macro-Environmental Manipulation, along with an assortment of countless other minor crimes.”

Predictably, that announcement led to an uproar, both from the Equestrian lines and from the ponies behind her. Soldiers leaned onto their front hooves, ready to charge; dozens of different voices were shouting all at once. And that was provoking the dragons, one of whom was already opening its maw. Even Luna was milliseconds from pulling out her sabers.

Celestia and Priscilla were bastions of calm in the chaos. The two stared at each other, each waiting for the other to blink first.

Finally, Celestia closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

**“SILENCE!”**

Everyone present froze, naturally responding to the natural command in Celestia’s voice.

“Continue, Priscilla,” Celestia stated in a tone of icy calm.

“Thank you,” the homunculus replied. “She has been sentenced to life imprisonment within the walls of Vitrum. However, due to her honest guilt, and her actions in defending the city and its citizens, she has been granted some degree of liberty.” Priscilla’s eyes narrowed at Celestia. “Liberty that can be rescinded at any moment.”

Celestia’s eyes narrowed in turn at the veiled accusation, but did not say anything.

“Either way.” Priscilla crossed her arms and held herself up to her full height. “She will remain imprisoned until the end of her days.”

Shining Armor ground his teeth furiously as he glared daggers at the homunculus’ back. He  _wanted_  to cuss her out,  _wanted_  to rant and rage at the sheer injustice of it all... but he knew that that would accomplish nothing.

“Second.” Priscilla went on. “All members of the Equestrian military are hereby banned from Vitrum until the end of  _their_ days.”

Shining Armor’s last strand of self-control promptly snapped like a dry twig. “YOU CAN’T DO THAT!” he roared, lunging at Priscilla with all his might. He was only stopped by Twilight and Rainbow Dash hastily grabbing on to him, holding him back.

“We can,” Priscilla corrected politely, as though she hadn’t almost been assaulted. “And we have. Of course, this interdiction extends solely to individuals in military positions. Should you desire to re-enter Vitrum, the solution should be rather self-evident, no?”

“Priscilla…” Celestia wearily interjected. “Please don’t try to poach my soldiers.”

“Poach?” Priscilla laughed airily at the word. “You give your soldiers far too much credit, Celestia. No, this is simply cold-blooded torture of a deserving enemy. The conflict between heart and duty. I believe that Cadenza employed it more than once, no?”

“You  _sick-!”_  Shining Armor bit out, but was cut off with a disinterested look.

“Not sick, logical. There is a marked difference,” Priscilla shrugged before returning her attention to Celestia. “Moving on. Third is a declaration of status: in the simplest of terms, Concordia and Equestria are not at war.”

“Uh, ex- _cuse_  me?!” Rainbow Dash demanded. “Was I hallucinating the big fight we were just in earlier today?!”

“That was us simply expunging the invaders who had occupied our city,” Priscilla replied without missing a beat. “We have chosen not to press the issue... for the time being at any rate. As for Cadenza, she is a criminal of Concordia who entered our borders and was thus tried accordingly. Of course,” she eyed the alicorns frigidly. “On account of your own status as criminals, sharing Cadenza’s crimes, any and all attempts at diplomacy between our nations can be considered well and truly nonviable, at  _any_  point in the future. But for the moment, we can agree on a truce: you leave us alone and we shall leave you...  _relatively_  alone.”

Celestia’s nostrils flared as she recognized the threat for what it was, but attempted to remain civil nevertheless. “Priscilla-”

“I apologize for interrupting you,” Priscilla interrupted without so much as a hint of apology in her voice. “But I do believe that it is time for you to depart. After all!” she emphasized when Celestia made to say something. “My father will be reactivating Vitrum’s border defenses soon, and will thus purge your railway from our leylines. It would be most... unbecoming for your army to be stranded within our borders. We might even need to...” Priscilla waved her hand airily. “Take action.”

Kalurme chuckled out a gargled laugh, licking his mouth...  _mouthes_ eagerly. It was a  _thoroughly_  disturbing sight.

Celestia briefly considered trying to protest, but instead reeled around and flared her wings at her army.  **“SOLDIERS! BOARD THE TRAIN! FULL RETREAT!”** She sighed aggravatedly as she restrained her magic. “We’re going home...”

The neat, orderly Equestrian lines collapsed as the soldiers started boarding the train, casting nervous glances over their shoulders at the leering dragons. The survivors of Vitrum followed, too, just as nervous around the dragons as the soldiers. Shining Armor was the last to leave, shooting Priscilla one final glare before trudging on board.

“Princess Celestia?” Twilight asked as the two entered the car, her voice very small. “What happens now?”

“Now, my little pony?” Celestia gave Twilight a genuine smile. “Now you get to go home and put this behind you. I’m so sorry you had to go through this.”

“It’s alright, Princess,” Twilight replied. “I’d like to rest right now, so are there-”

“The sleeping cars are three cars ahead,” Celestia replied. “Rest, Twilight. We have all the time to talk.”

Twilight didn’t respond as she walked down the car. She barely even noticed as Spike split off from the group, mumbling something about using the restroom. She was tired; between the battle, the party, and the relearning how to use her magic in the span of hours, she was running on fumes. There was no reason not to trust Celestia. After all, omitting something wasn’t lying, right? Not... not technically at any rate.

Yeah, yeah, that logic sounded about right to her. Sure, she was almost dead on her feet from exhaustion, but it still sounded about right.

The sleep car was fairly basic, this being a military train. Just cots stacked three high with a thin foam pad, a sheet, and a pillow. To Twilight, it might as well have been a soft feather mattress. She plopped down on the cot and was asleep within seconds.

Celestia, meanwhile, watched her last soldier board the train just as the car lurched into movement. Walking back to the rear window, she gazed out on the frozen tundra; if she squinted, she could convince herself that she could  _just_ see the islands of Vitrum’s Overloft in the distance.

As she stared, Celestia found herself thinking back to the point in time when those same islands had  _not_  been present.

**“Come oooon! Look, I realize that it’s a** **_bit_ ** **of a fixer-upper-!”**

**“A fixer-upper?** **_A fixer-upper!?”_ **

 

**~~~**

 

**_“A FIXER-UPPER!?”_ ** **Celestia shrieked as she grabbed Scholar by the collar of his robe. “A fixer-upper is a house that needs new drywall and a fresh coat of paint. Maybe some roofing work! A fixer-upper is a dilapidated wreck of a shack, rotted by time and collapsed in on itself! Hel, a fixer-upper is a** **_cave, dripping_ ** **with moisture,** **_lined_ ** **with** **_moss_ ** **and** **_sentient slime! This_ ** **is** **_not_ ** **a fixer-upper!”**

**With a twitch of telekinesis, Celestia swung Scholar around to survey the vast stretch of land before them.**

**“This is a barren! FROZEN!** **_TUNDRA!”_ **

**The icy tumbleweed that rolled by only served to underscore the Alicorn’s point.**

**Scholar stared forwards for a moment before popping a finger up. “If I might point something out?”**

**“Please do,” Minos ground out, tapping the shaft of his great-axe in his hand menacingly. “We’re** **_so_ ** **interested in what you have to say.”**

**“Well... Celestia said that this tundra was barren, which means it’s lifeless. However! That statement is inherently** **_in-_ ** **correct, on account of there actually being life on these plains.”**

**The minotaur and alicorn present glanced over the frozen plain.**

**“I don’t see anything,” Minos deadpanned.**

**“Maybe some lichen on that rock over there. If you squint,” Celestia hissed.**

**“Ah, no no no, you misunderstand!” Scholar held his hands up hastily. “There are plenty of indigenous species in the Great Ice Plains, they’re just not present at the moment. For example, the local subspecies of Windigo, the Boreads! There are also Ice Giants, Frost Spiders, more than a few Long-Haired Trolls, albino wyverns... oh yeah! I even heard tell of a blizzard atronach blowing through down in Black-GRK!”**

**The human was cut off by Minos grabbing him by his collar and lifting him a clear ten feet off the ground so that they were at eye-level. “This. Is. A wasteland,” the minotaur ground out.**

**Scholar choked and gagged for a moment before managing to catch a breath. “It’s also one of the most concentrated leyline convergences on the planet!”**

**Celestia snorted as Minos dropped him onto the permafrost. “You couldn’t have opened with that?”**

**“I told you last week when I informed everyone of the results of the global survey!”**

**Celestia and Minos glanced at one another flatly for a second before glaring at Scholar. “We weren’t there for that meeting,” they chorused in flat unison.**

**Scholar blinked and stared at them for a second before slapping a hand to his forehead. “Ooooh, riiiiight... My bad.”**

**The two glanced at one another once anew... before they proceeded to simultaneously smack Scholar up the back of his head.**

**“OW! Alright, alright! Geeze...”**

**“So... anyways...” Celestia sighed as she rubbed the bridge of her nose tiredly. “We’re really going to build a city out here?”**

**“Ah! Not quite! We’ll actually be building our** **_capital_ ** **here! Our primary base of worldwide operations!”**

**A moment of silence. Then...**

**“Minos, hit him again.”**

**“GAH! Waitwaitwait!” Scholar hastily squirmed his way out of the minotaur’s grip and staggered away from them. “Look, it** **_can_ ** **happen! We’ve got more than enough free energy at our fingertips, so the sky’s the limit! Imagine it now!” He turned around and held his hands out wide. “A stronghold, impenetrable, protected both by its environment and arrays stronger than you’ve ever seen! A library, unparalleled in size and scale, containing the sum total of our planet’s knowledge.”**

**“Just make sure it has a nice sparring ring,” Minos interjected, his voice showing he was clearly tired of the conversation.**

**“A** **_sparring ring!?”_ ** **Scholar scoffed, visibly offended. “My dear Minos, this city will have an** **_arena!_ ** **Nay, a** **_colosseum!_ ** **The greatest, grandest center for combat and conflict on the planet! Worthy of housing fights between the** **_gods!_ ** **Or, lacking, them, us!”**

**_That_ ** **caught Minos’s attention.**

**“And... what about a greenhouse for my tea plants? I refuse to have them transported, it dries them out and ruins the flavor,” Celestia added hastily.**

**Scholar chuckled lightly as he flung an arm around Celestia’s shoulders. “Celestia Celestia Celestia. Your scope is too small. I will show you a greenhouse like your mind couldn’t even** **_begin_ ** **to conceive! Entire ecosystems, built** **_specifically_ ** **for sustaining your tea, and** **_only_ ** **your tea! Cultivating it will be as simple as walking out your front door.”**

**The human then released the mare and started to stride out into the wastes, gesticulating wildly. “I can see it now! Laboratories, lounges, libraries, clubs, shops, salons, restaurants, kitchens, barracks... this place will have it all and more!”**

**He spun around and flung his arms out wide, presenting the world. “This will be our capital! Our home, our seat of power, our piece de resistance! With this, we will make each and every last one of our** **_wildest_ ** **dreams come true!”**

**Scholar’s grin stretched from ear to ear as he all but** **_burst_ ** **from excitement.**

**“This will be... our** **_masterpiece!”_ **

 

**~~~**

 

Celestia was jerked out of the memory as the train rumbled over… She glanced out of the window again. A bridge. She sighed as the memories slowly faded. Scholar had certainly delivered on his promise to make a masterpiece. Canterlot was a pale imitation of the grandeur of the crystal city.

Not for the first time, Celestia thought back to ways she could have stopped this whole mess. It was a long list; two millennia of regrets will do that.

“Princess?” came a voice from behind her. Turning around, she saw a white-coated Royal Guard. “They’re ready for you.”

“Thank you. I shall be there shortly.”

The time for regrets was long past. Mourning wouldn’t bring back what once was, and she was going to have a rough enough time dealing with what was now and what would soon be.

 

**-o-**

 

Priscilla sighed morosely as she watched the train pull away. Once it was well and truly gone, she turned on her heel to begin the long walk back to Vitrum. At last, she could finally check the progress of the maintenance work that was being performed on the city’s systems. Yes, she had faith in both the rune-workers and the city’s own automatic processes, but at times micro-managing was simply a necessity.

The first few minutes were spent idly flicking through the reports. It wasn’t until somewhere in the middle that something caught her eye. But oh, what a something it was.

Priscilla hastily skimmed the rest of the report, and then reread it, just to be sure. It said the same thing the second time, and the third. Eyes wide and mouth open, she let the rune display fade into aether as she quintupled her pace through the snow, tearing back towards Vitrum as swiftly as she could.

“Oh, father is  _not_ going to be happy about this...” she hissed to herself.

 

**-o-**

 

“We are gratified that the Bearers are all uninjured,” Luna stated with some relief, flanking Celestia as the two and Shining Armor made their way down the length of the train. “Though, in light of circumstances, We find that the prospect of saying ‘We told you so’ is rather less satisfying than We expected it to be.”

“Mmmph...” Celestia grunted noncommittally, her mind obviously elsewhere.

“We  _are_  curious about one thing though...” Luna mused. “What of the musicians? How did they get all the way out to Vitrum? Last We heard, the two were at Miss Scratch’s club in Canterlot.”

“I...  _think_  I can explain that one,” Shining Armor offered. “I wasn’t able to get all the details, but I’m fairly certain that I heard something about Pinkie Pie and a remix made by that red golem, Null?”

“Say no more,” Luna snapped her hoof up with a sigh. “Knowing the little maniac, ‘tis more than answer enough.”

The white unicorn thought about that for a moment before shivering heavily. “Yeah, I can see how that would work...” He then turned his attention up to Celestia. “So, what’s our next move, ma’am?”

Celestia blinked as Shining Armor’s voice intruded on her thoughts. “Hm? Ah, yes...” the Alicorn frowned darkly. “As it stands, this detente that Concordia has established is little more than a facade, meant to earn them time with which to build up their forces and prepare to attack us. It will not be tomorrow, and it will not be next week, and there is every chance that it might not even be this year, but they  _will_  attack us, of that we can be certain.”

Shining Armor narrowed his eyes as he considered the statement. “So what do we do in response?”

The solar diarch sighed morosely at the question. “What  _can_  we do, Captain? For all that Scholar is crass, he prides himself on his accuracy... whenever he isn’t actively deceiving someone, at any rate. For all that our protracted period of peace has been kind to our people, it has also had the inevitable end result of making us soft. As it stands, we and Concordia are opposites: they do not attack us because of a lack of means, we are unable to defend ourselves because of a lack of will.”

“As such,” Celestia came to a halt in front of a door to a cabin. “We take our only option: waiting, planning, and above all, preparing. As such...” Grasping the door’s handle, the Princess slid it open and stepped aside. “Captain, I’d like you to meet my new Military Chiefs of Staff.”

“Or rather,” one of the ponies inside rumbled as he stepped forwards and presented himself. “Her old ones, so to speak.”

Shining Armor’s jaw dropped open in shock as he registered the voice. “Wha- G- _General Pilum!?”_

The ancient Equestrian grunted and nodded firmly. “In the flesh.” He raised a hoof and contemplated the rune-engraved that metal and stone that composed it. “So to speak...”

Indeed, the Earth Pony General was no longer a ‘pony’, by most definitions of the word. Instead of natural flesh and blood, Pilum’s body was a golem, glowing with engravings and giving off an air of solidity.

“So... you’re the only one of us who got out alive, hm?”

Shining Armor snapped his head around and stared at the second golem in the room, this one built with a more slender frame and with a mana-encased horn protruding from its forehead.

“Well...” the unicorn-golem sighed in a female voice. “I suppose that one is better than none.”

“Oh lighten up, will you?”

Another female voice spoke, drawing attention to a pair of golems with wing-shaped constructs protruding from their backs that were hovering near the roof of the cabin.

“After all,” the second pegasus-golem continued in a male voice. “It’s not like we have any room to speak.”

Shining Armor gaped in vivid disbelief. “Wh- I don’t-? Gladia? Arcus? Sagitta!? How is this- how are you all-!? I thought they killed you!?”

“Reports of our deaths were greatly exaggerated,” Arcus supplied cockily.

“Or...” Sagitta sighed and scratched the back of her neck sadly. “ _Slightly_  exaggerated, at any rate.”

The Captain of the Guard could only work his jaw as he tried to come up with an appropriate answer before a white hoof landing on his shoulder snapped him out of his astonishment.

“Everything alright, Captain?” Celestia asked gently.

Shining Armor looked up at her in search for an answer. “How are they-? They  _died!”_

“You will find...” Luna provided patiently. “That while death was quite prominent in the days of Concordia, so too were means of preventing it in the midst of battle; so long as one were aptly prepared at any rate.”

“Our armor had backup systems in them. Revenant Circles, we call them,” Pilum explained stoically. “They’re designed so that, upon death, our souls are preserved and automatically transported back to Canterlot. Once there, our souls are placed in simulacra until new organic bodies are grown for us.”

“Thing is, though, we were  _really_  lucky to have been killed when we were!” Sagitta nodded sagely.

“Yeah! If we bit it when the city’s soul-catching array was still up...” Arcus shivered heavily. “Well, let’s just say that it wouldn’t have been pretty.”

“Still,” Gladia cut in with a sobering tone. “As it stands, the process is not perfect. Only half of our soldiers managed to escape, so we only have somewhere around one thousand soldiers from our time fit for duty, us included. The remaining two thousand are being held in stasis for their simulacra to be fashioned.”

Shining Armor perked up at the statistics given. “W-was a soldier called Faithful Shield among you?”

Gladia looked at Shining in what was most likely surprise. “ _Corporal_  Faithful Shield? He was one of my best soldiers, on the fast-track to a promotion. How did you know him?”

“He saved my life in the battle, helped me get my head on straight,” Shining Armor explained. “I-is he-?”

His heart dropped when the Unicorn general heaved a sigh and shook her head. “I’m... sorry, Captain, but the Revenant Circle isn’t foolproof. It tends towards a 40% failure rate, even on the best days, wherein the soul naturally dissipates into aether, and it doesn’t help that the majority of the enemy soldiers knew about the Circles, and were thus aiming to hit them. So... I’m truly sorry, Captain... but Faithful Shield is gone, and he will be sorely missed.”

Shining Armor seemed to practically deflate at the news, his head dropping with a mournful groan. Still, as the soldier that he was, he visibly pulled himself together. “So. When will your new biological bodies be ready?”

_That_  question served only to drop the Generals into their own bouts of depressed silence.

The biological Unicorn blinked in confusion. “Uh... what’d I say?”

“Shining Armor...” Celestia started uncomfortably. “It’s been several thousand years since the Royal Equestrian Army was in the field. While the preservative capabilities of Canterlot’s archives are... extensive, to say the least...”

“None of the recovered soldiers have any viable DNA samples from which to grow bodies, and their original forms are no doubt being disposed of as we speak. These ponies will never truly reclaim their own flesh and blood.”

“LUNA!” Celestia admonished her younger sibling.

“There is a reason that we considered bluntness a virtue, sister,” the Alicorn in question deadpanned.

“It’s... alright, your Highness, Captain,” Pilum spoke up, his voice carefully devoid of emotion. “We’ve acknowledged and accepted our fates. But!” He held up a hoof. “We  _are_  soldiers of Equestria, so we will continue to fight for our nation for as long as we are able.” He held a hoof out to Shining Armor. “And we’d be honored to do it with the current generation of soldiers. We look forwards to working with you, Captain Shining Armor.”

The Unicorn stared at him for a moment before smiling and shaking his hoof firmly. “Same here, General Pilum. There’s no time to waste; let’s start talking strategy.”

Celestia nodded and made to speak... when she was interrupted by a knock on the cabin door.

Luna rolled her eyes with a sigh before sliding the door open, revealing a somewhat skittish unicorn soldier who shrank back in surprise. “What?”

“U-um... Pardon the interruption, your highness, but I was just running inventory on the armory and well...” The soldier lit her horn up and drew an object into view. “Is this yours, Captain?”

Shining Armor’s jaw promptly dropped open in shock. “Holy-!”

 

**-o-**

 

**“HELLFIRE! HELLFIRE INFUSED WITH SULPHUR AND BRIMSTONE!** **_IGNEOUS BRIMSTONE!”_ **

“Now father...” Priscilla attempted to placate her progenitor. “I realize that this situation is most unfortunate-”

**_“UNFORTUNATE!?”_**  Seath bellowed, crystal fog billowing from his maw uncontrollably as he ranted and raged, pacing back and forth in the conference room he and his comrades were situated in.  **“BECAUSE OF OUR BLUNDER, HALF OF OUR INVADERS HAVE MANAGED TO ESCAPE JUSTICE! THAT IS WELL BEYOND UNFORTUNATE!”**

“Maybe so...” Priscilla admitted. “But the other half are still very much  _dead._  As such, the matter is closed, no?”

**“NO! IT IS** ** _NOT_** **CLOSED!”** The pale drake snarled at his daughter as he rammed a fist into the nearest wall he could reach.  **“THIS MATTER WILL** ** _NEVER_** **BE CLOSED! NOT SO LONG AS THAT- THAT** ** _CURSED WEAPON_** **, THAT** ** _STIGMA_** **UPON OUR SPECIES STILL EXISTS!”**

“It is not your fault that you missed the lance’s honor policy, father!” Priscilla pleaded.

**“But I did...”**  Seath fumed, no longer bellowing but still layering his voice with magic.  **“I overlooked it, I** ** _missed_** **it, and now that blood-soaked** ** _abomination_** **is in the hooves of our enemies. Of that ARROGANT BLOWHARD!”** The dragon punctuated the statement with a blast of crystal.

“Trixie demands to be let into the loop!” the blue unicorn interjected, confused frustration marring her voice as she hid beneath the table in an effort to escape the drake’s wrath. “Again!”

“And hopefully with less rampage!” Gilda spat as she hugged the room’s ceiling. “I’m not keen on experiencing death by crystalfication! That honor is for the pony dweebs!”

“We understand the issue with the soul-field,” Iron Will grunted as he tried to chip a layer of crystal off of his arm. “But what in the name of _Hel_  do you mean by an honor policy!?”

Chrysalis snorted as she pulsed the magic in the shield she was holding erect, causing the topmost layer of crystal to slough off. “A foolish enchantment that was occasionally engraved into Concordian weapons. It binds a weapon to its master in such a way that even space and time will fold in order to ensure that the two can never be kept apart. Only very specialized defenses are capable of stopping an honor policy.”

“The problem...” Scholar mused as he leaned back in a chair, tilting it back and propping his feet up on a platform of magic. “Is that ownership of said weapon passes from person to person via ‘honorable’ combat. Basically, you defeat the weapon’s owner, said weapon becomes yours. Shiny beat what once was Aristo, so he inherited his dragon-slaying lance. Said lance is no longer awaiting processing in a vault, so we can assume that it’s in Shining Armor’s hooves by now. It’s simple, really.”

**“AND INFURIATING!”**  Seath howled, letting loose another blast of magic.  **“OUR VICTORY! OUR** ** _TRIUMPH_** **OVER THOSE** ** _TRAITORS,_** ** _SOURED_** **BY A SLEW OF ROOKIE MISTAKES! I-! I AM-!** ** _RAAAAARGH!”_** The dragon threw his head back and howled, causing the room’s floor to erupt into a forest of crystalline spikes.

“EEP!” Trixie squeaked, literally teleporting to land on Iron Will’s head.

“Iron Will thought Trixie had not yet managed to master teleportation,” the minotaur noted, crossing his eyes to look up at his passenger while he held the crystals off with his free hand.

“Trixie has discovered that terror is a terrific motivator...” the illusionist squeaked fearfully

“Father! I must  _insist_ that you compose yourself!” Priscilla demanded fretfully. “This conduct is  _most_  unbecoming!”

“Agreed,” Chrysalis added. “Even with this issue with the lance, the day wasn’t a  _complete_  waste.” Smirking, she cast a glance at the far wall of the room, prompting the disheveled pink blur that was somehow being reflected in the crystal without a caster to flinch and hide behind what  _could_  have been a mane.

Seath fumed as he glared at the blur for a moment before snorting furiously.  **“You were granted this mercy so that you could continue to watch over ‘your’ ponies,** ** _not_** **us. I suggest you get to it,”**  He let loose a vicious rumble.  **“Lest your privileges be...** ** _rescinded.”_**

The blur flinched again but promptly complied, running along the walls and out of the room.

Scholar watched her leave with a cocked eyebrow before turning a neutral stare upon Seath. “Well, you’re more than a little stressed.”

To the human’s credit, he didn’t even even flinch as the dragon slammed his claws down on either side of him, craning his neck to loom over him menacingly.  **“And you are nowhere near stressed enough,”**  the drake hissed furiously.  **“I would think that you, a fellow being of** ** _science,_** **would understand the necessity of** ** _each_** **and** ** _every_** **victory, the** ** _menace_** **of** ** _every_** **defeat.** ** _How are you so calm!?”_**

Scholar pursed his lips and thought for a second. He made to respond... and promptly froze without warning. He then proceeded to snap out his Lexicon in a burst of runes, tear it open to a certain page... and grin a  _massively_  content grin.

“The same way I’m calm most of the time, my good dragon...” he mused. “I know something that you don’t. And what I know is that I have _just_  received confirmation of a  _massive_  victory in our favor.”

_That_  prompted Seath to hesitate for a beat in shock, his magic sputtering out like a blown candle. “Wh- wait, what? What is it? What have you learned?”

Scholar held his hand up placatingly. “Tomorrow, Seath. It’s been a long day and we’re all tired. I’ll brief you once you’ve had some rest and are thinking clearly. Okay?”

Seath opened his mouth to speak for a moment before ultimately trailing off with a regretful sigh. “You... make a good point. Very well, I shall retire for the evening. We will continue this discussion in the morning.”

Scholar nodded in agreement before turning his attention to the other occupants of the room. “That goes for the rest of you as well. Grab some shuteye. We start work early tomorrow. Dismissed.”

The others streamed out of the room, each heading to their own quarters and talking about something or other. Seath was still visibly upset about the day’s losses, but that was to be expected.

It wasn’t long before Scholar was alone in the room, Lexicon still open to one specific page.

Scholar glanced down at the page and read the scant few words written across it with a victorious smile, his mind drifting back to recall what had guaranteed the appearance of those words in the first place.

 

**~~~**

 

**“Enjoy the party,” Scholar shot over his shoulder as he marched out of the room. “I imagine it’ll be the last one that Vitrum will be enjoying for a long, long time.”**

**The human stomped down the corridor, fury and frustration lining his being. He was en route to the closest training ground he could manage with the intent of blasting apart as many targets as he could possibly manage...**

**“WAIT!”**

**When he was brought to a halt by a** **_very_ ** **familiar** **voice**

**Scholar briefly entertained the idea of letting his wrath loose on the young dragon again as he ran to catch up to him, but was swift to reign in his temper. “You already gave me your answer, Spike. We have** **_nothing_ ** **more to discuss.”**

**“No...” Spike panted as he doubled over, fighting to catch his breath. “No... I-I didn’t...”**

**The Rune-Keeper rolled his eyes in exasperation without looking at the drake. “Didn’t** **_what?”_ **

**Spike shook his head desperately as he sucked in a new breath. “I didn’t give you my answer...”**

**_That_ ** **prompted Scholar to turn around and shoot a look at the young dragon. “You just said you wouldn’t hurt your family,” Scholar stated with a deadly calm.**

**Spike shook his head again as he looked up at Scholar. “I said... that I wouldn’t hurt** **_Twilight...”_ ** **he clarified in a quiet voice. “I never said** **_anything_ ** **about Celestia.”**

**Scholar hid his jerk of surprise by drawing himself up to his full height, crossing his arms behind his back. “Name your terms,” he asserted emotionlessly.**

**The young dragon swallowed heavily and hesitated for a moment before answering. “My wings, my fire, my size, my magic, all of it. Also, you do** **_not_ ** **hurt Twilight, or** **_any_ ** **of her friends, no matter what.”**

**“If they stand in the way of my plans or of Concordia’s wellbeing and leave me no other choice, they** **_will_ ** **be dealt with. Non-negotiable,” Scholar shot back without so much as a second thought. “Understood?”**

**Spike ground his teeth in exasperation for a second before nodding tersely. “Understood.”**

**“Then deal.” Scholar rolled his shoulders and neck with a very audible series of pops. “In return, you will provide me with intelligence on the internal affairs of the Kingdom of Equestria. Any information you believe to be pertinent** **_to_ ** **anything, any information you believe could be beneficial to me you will forward to me via an enchantment I will layer into your fire. Deal?”**

**Spike opened his mouth to say something... then shut it with a snort of green fire. “Deal...” he groused.**

**“Good.” Scholar knelt down and held his hand out to the drake, a small array of runes glowing in the palm. “Put ‘er there.”**

**Spike stared at the runes with trepidation, doubt coursing through his being...**

**“Now or never, kid,” Scholar prompted.**

**Twilight’s number one assistant sucked in a deep breath and grasped Scholar’s hand with his own... and promptly fell to his knees with a choked cry of pain as runes wound up his arm, encircling his neck and chest and flaring up before fading away.**

**Once his hand was released, Spike choked and gagged as he massaged his throat, hiccuping up bursts of neon-purple flame.**

**“And with that, we’re done,” Scholar announced, standing up and dusting his hands off with finality.**

**“Y-you...” Spike wheezed through the foreign fire.**

**“Calm down, that’s the enchantment I mentioned,” Scholar brushed the aborted insult off. “You can use it to send messages to me. Now, listen carefully: when you next see Celestia, there’s a chance she’ll notice this enchantment, even with your consent.”**

**Spike snapped his head up and stared at Scholar in horror.**

**“Oh suck it up!” The human rolled his eyes at the reaction. “Even if she does, you can deny it entirely and you’ll be free of fulfilling your end of the deal. However, if she doesn’t notice, then the first thing you’re going to do is find somewhere private and send me a message. It’s easy, all you need to do is flame me a note that says-”**

 

**~~~**

 

_“All clear.”_

Scholar smiled and nodded triumphantly as he reread the message once anew.

"First move to me, Celestia,” he whispered to himself. “Here's hoping that this game is a quick and painless one."

Without warning, the human hissed as a bolt of pain lanced up his right arm, originating from his hand.

“For everyone’s sakes...” he grit out.


	29. Chapter 29. Ominous Winds

Once, Detrot had been a thriving river port, its location on the border with Eagleland and along the Detrot river guaranteeing considerable traffic. So great was this movement, particularly the cross-river movement, that twenty years prior the city had funded, at great expense, the construction of several large bridges.

And then the railroad arrived.

All of Equestria's river ports endured some form of economic downturn with the railroads stealing traffic from the rivers, but most of them rebounded, held up by other economic activities. Detrot did not. The result was that those residents who could flee the city did, and those who could not were left in a depressed, bankrupt, and increasingly run-down and crime-ridden city.

Well, as much as any city could be run-down and crime-ridden in Equestria. Crown subsidies kept the city afloat, Royal Guards kept the civilians safe for the most part, and steamship development promised some revival of the river traffic. Still, it was a hotbed of illegal activity, in particular the smuggling of illegal goods. If you wanted something banned from the Crown, Detrot ranked with, ironically enough,  _Canterlot_ of all places, as the best place to get it.

Which was exactly what led a certain large, cloaked individual to scrounge around in the back alleys of the city, lumbering to and fro along the ill-cobbled streets in search of a location. Now and then, a pony or griffon or what have you would eyeball the figure, contemplating whether or not they would be a viable mark to make a quick bit off of. Each and every one of these individuals reconsidered the instant the being snapped its head towards them and loosed a chest-rumbling growl, each one deciding they'd rather keep their limbs intact, thank you very much.

The figure continued their trudge for about an hour before finally coming to a halt, looking up at the old wooden sign hanging above it. After a few seconds of processing the marks engraved on the wood, the figure grunted in satisfaction and shouldered the door open, causing the bell hanging just behind it to jingle in greeting as it walked in.

The shop was something of a mess, with books and bric a brac piled high just about everywhere. Most individuals would have found the darkness that enshrouded the room daunting, to say the least, but it did little to hinder the individual. The cloaked being silently lumbered into the store, sweeping its apparently obscured gaze over the wide selection of curios in a single-minded pursuit.

He was about halfway through when an array of candles lit up around the shop, simultaneously dispelling the darkness and enhancing the shadows.

"May I help you, traveler?"

The figure swung its gaze around to share at the apparent owner of the shop, an old gray earth pony wearing traditional Chineighese clothing with his mane done up in a braid.

Not waiting for a response, the shopkeeper walked over to the shop's counter and hauled his forelegs up onto the wood, shooting a winning grin at the individual. "I imagine that I can. You seem like a very dedicated individual, I can tell that you already know what you're looking for."

The figure gave a grunt of agreement before bucking what was most likely his head forwards, indicating something behind the pony.

The owner looked at what he was gesturing at and promptly froze for a moment before plastering a grin on his face. "Ahh, you have a keen eye. Yes, the Alicorn Amulet is a  _very-!"_

He was promptly cut off by the combined thump and jingle of a bag of bits being dropped on the counter. The earth pony took in the sack of currency for a moment before shrugging and placing the display case holding the pendant onto the counter. "Well, can't argue with that. Thank you for shopping at Bibelot's Curio Compendium, please come again."

The figure ignored the pony's platitudes, instead extending his head towards the case and apparently giving it a sniff.

Before Bibelot could react, the figure let loose a massively bloodthirsty snarl and lunged forwards, grabbing the pony by his throat with a massive clawed hand made of stony gray skin that was cracked through with deep red lines and lifting him several feet off the ground.

" _ **Triiiiicksssss!"**_ the being hissed, its voice like gas venting from the earth. " _ **Traaaaitorrrrr!"**_

"W-what!?" Bibelot gagged, flailing his legs furiously. "I-I d-don't!"

" _ **Liiiiiessss!"**_  the being rumbled, smoke starting to waft out from beneath its cloak. " _ **Maaaadneeessss!"**_

Bibelot's eyes shot wide in realization as he hurriedly rapped on the figure's arm. "Waitwaitwaitwaitwait! Y-you're right, I cursed the Amulet, but- _GRK!"_  He was cut off as the grip on his neck redoubled. " _WAIT!"_  he wheezed out a final time before swinging a hoof down and striking the top of the amulet's display case.

The glass lit up and rippled with a veritable rainbow of arcane colors before the hues dulled into a flat gray and faded away.

The figure glared at the shopkeep for a moment longer before giving the display a tentative sniff. A second later, the being dropped the pony in favor of removing the display case and grabbing the amulet, allowing Bibelot to get his hooves beneath himself and take a ragged breath.

"I-I apologize..." the earth pony wheezed, "For the deception... but it was not meant for you. Every now and again, some random necromancer or would-be conqueror or-or-or  _someone_  will seek out the Amulet. The curse of madness was meant to force those who sought it to take their actions to the extreme, so that they would either burn themselves out with increasingly reckless actions, or simply draw Celestia's attention so she can drop some plasma on them."

Bibelot shrugged as he adjusted his collar uncomfortably. "We tend to prefer the former, makes it easier to retrieve the Amulet, but there's also value in keeping that  _tyrant_  on her toes. Either way, the system works. Had I known you had  _some_  modicum of actual ability, I would not have utilized the ploy. I apologize and simply ask that you put the Amulet to good use... and avoid as many unwarranted casualties as you can, of course."

Throughout the explanation, the figure had been looking the Amulet over, both sniffing it and turning it in its fingers. Finally, seemingly satisfied, it withdrew its arm back into its cloak and turned around, making its way towards the door.

Bibelot plastered a shaky grin on his face and waved a hoof in farewell. "G-good luck with whatever your plan is! Have a nice day!"

The figure's apparent response was to slam the shop's door shut behind it.

The earth pony's expression immediately fell into a furious scowl. "Jackass."

Outside the shop, the figure wandered off a ways until it found its way to the end of a blind alley. Once there, he stuck two clawed hands out of its cloak, one grasping the Amulet, the other open and upturned. The open claw was then filled with a flickering orb of black and red fire.

The orb wavered for a second before flaring strongly, the center darkening and a strong female voice coming forth from it. " _Do you have it?"_  the woman on the other end of the line requested in a commanding tone of voice.

The figure rumbled positively, holding up the Amulet for the orb to see. " _ **Suuuccesssss."**_

The woman let out a positive-sounding humph, her blurred image in the fire seeming to nod _. "Good, good... move on to phase two. I trust you have a suitable location in mind?"_

The figure's cloak shifted slightly, allowing a glowing grin to peek out from beneath it. " _ **Yeeeesssss..."**_  he slid the Amulet back into his cloak before using his newly freed hand to conjure up the image of a town. " _ **Poooonyviiiiiille."**_

" _Oh?"_  the woman mused. " _That's where you reported Celestia's..._ " She considered her words for a moment. "Student  _was living, correct?"_

" _ **Yeeeesssss..."**_

Despite how blurry the image was, the massive smile the woman was wearing came through as clear as day.

" _Perfect."_

**-o-**

The morning following her return from Vitrum, Twilight enacted Morning Routine 3.2, designed to deal with the aftermath of stressful life-or-death situations. This entailed a combination of sleeping in late, a long soak in her bathtub, extra time spent on her morning grooming, setting a pot of coffee to boil and preparing a simple breakfast of cold cereal, all intended to help her decompress and thus done by hoof as much as possible. And it worked.

Well, right up until the last step, anyway, when she put a spoon halfway through the ceiling when she tried to take it out of its drawer with her magic.  _That_ kind of put a damper on things.

Twilight blinked numbly up at the cutlery sticking out of her ceiling for a second. She then became aware of a whistle of steam erupting from her kettle. Moving nice and slowly, she grabbed the kettle off her stove and slowly, ever so slowly, poured it into the coffee machine plugged into the wall. A coffee filter was retrieved from its location just above the sink, and ground coffee carefully scooped out of its bag and into the filter, more than a little ending up spilled on the counter. After that, she just needed to close up the top and hit a button, and coffee would come out. The wonders of modern conveniences!

More seriously, it would have been nigh impossible to make coffee the old way by hoof, so Twilight sent a silent thanks to the brand-new machine and the bag of pre-ground coffee.

She waited a moment for her the brew to distill properly before fishing out a mug, placing it below the machine's faucet and pressing the appropriate button. She continued to wait as the muddy liquid poured into the mug and then proceeded to withdraw the mug and took a nice, long pull from her drink.

Twilight savored the burning sensation as it coursed down her throat before letting out a sigh of satisfaction. She then proceeded to take another sip... and spew it across the countertop as she snapped her eyes up to stare at the spoon in disbelief.

"Wha-!?" she sputtered in disbelief. "I-wh-I-I-I don't-! What!?  _What!?"_

Before she could think about what she was doing, Twilight grasped the spoon with her magic once again...

And found herself staring at the brand new hole in her kitchen table. And floor. And- Twilight hastily calculated the velocity and, after drawing on her mental blueprint of her home, resigned herself to having to replace some of the lab equipment in the basement.

Shaking her head morosely, Twilight crossed her eyes as she looked up at her horn. "What the heck... is..." She trailed off slowly as a thought hit her. Acting  _very_  carefully, Twilight concentrated on the control lessons that Seath and Trixie had had her memorize. She then proceeded to grasp a fork with her magic and  _carefully_  lift it up and out of the drawer, hefting it contemplatively before placing it back in the drawer.

Twilight fell on her rump and blew a tired sigh out of her nose as she proceeded to massage her suddenly throbbing temples. Two lines of thought were running through her head: ' _I should have seen this coming,'_  and ' _Let's think this through.'_  Ultimately, the second line won out, and Twilight started to run through facts.

' _Alright, alright...'_  Twilight slowed her breathing as she got back onto her hooves and started to pace. ' _My magic is approximately as strong as it was back in Vitrum, despite me being in Ponyville. The reason given for my increase in power was that the force Princess Celestia used to make the world safer, called 'harmony', was removed from Vitrum, and thus ceased to suppress my magic, unleashing it to its fullest potential. However, I am no longer_ in  _Vitrum, hence I should be affected by harmony once anew. So, logically, for whatever reason, I can assume that I am no longer being affected by harmony._

' _Alright, so now the question becomes why. Why isn't the harmony affecting me any more? Several possibilities arise: interference from an outside sources, which include Scholar, Princess Celestia, and other third parties, biological anomalies, sheer happenstance, cosmic coincidence-!'_  Twilight promptly rapped a hoof on her forehead as she let out a grunt of exasperation. ' _No no no! That's a tangent, Twilight, focus on the_ real  _problem.'_

Twilight started to chew on her lip nervously as her thoughts changed course. ' _Right... the real problem isn't the 'why' or the 'how', those questions can come later. What matters at this time is the 'what'. What happens now, what should I_ do  _now?'_  The unicorn mulled over the question uncomfortably for a moment. ' _If I tell Princess Celestia about it, then she'll most likely find a way to rectify it... but...'_  She glanced left and right in an unsure manner. ' _It's not like that would be such a bad thing, would it? After all, Princess Celestia's whole reason for creating harmony was to protect us, so... the logical solution would to talk to her about it, right?'_

Twilight swallowed heavily as a momentary stab of doubt hit her. ' _Right?'_

Before the magical prodigy could dwell on matters any further, a series of raps on the library's door knocked her clean out of her head.

"Ah-! Coming, coming!" Twilight called out, scrambling to answer the door. She hesitated for a mere moment before using her magic to  _carefully_  grasp the doorknob and tug the door open. "Hello? Can I help-?"

" **Hello!"**

"-GYRK!" Twilight squeaked intelligently as she crushed the doorknob to the approximate size of a grape.

Floating above Twilight's doorstep was what appeared to be a golem both similar and dissimilar to Nix and Null. Similar in that it was made of rune-engraved stone, dissimilar in that it had a different design. This golem looked like a floating humanoid torso, with its arms, hands and heads being linked to its torso by means of streams of magic. The bottom-half of its spherical head was painted with a wide, all-teeth smile that was either meant to be winning or psychotic.

" **Greetings -** _ **Twilight Sparkle-**_ **!"** the golem proclaimed with a wave of its hand, its voice shifting slightly as it said Twilight's name, as though it were pre-recorded. " **I am an Automated Academia Golem Envoy, colloquially known as an 'Envoy'. I am a humble courier for the Academia Arcana. I come bearing a message for the -** _ **head librarian-**_ **of the -** _ **Golden Oaks Library-.**_   **May I please enter your -** _ **place of work/humble abode-**_ **?"**

Twilight stumbled over her words for a moment before nodding jerkily and gesturing inside. "P-please, come in. Make yourself at... home? I suppose?"

" **Thank you very much!"**  Envoy chirped, drifting inside.

Just as Twilight was closing the door, the sound of steps descending the stairs sounded out.

"G'morning Twilight..." Spike yawned tiredly, stretching his arms along with his jaws. "Who's at the-?" He promptly froze and stared when he caught sight of their 'guest'. "Uhh...?"

"Spike, we have a guest. I'd like you to meet..." Twilight gestured at the artificial being weakly. "Envoy."

" **Greetings!"**  The golem waved cheerfully.

"Envoy here says that he has a message from the..." Twilight swallowed nervously as she eyed the golem. "The Academia Arcana. Why don't you go upstairs and ah... brush up?" she jerked her head upwards with a somewhat pleading look.

"But I don't even have... ah, I mean…" Spike trailed off as he got the message. "I- ah- s-sure thing, Twilight! Be  _right_  back!" And with that he promptly scrambled back up the staircase.

Twilight waited for as long as she comfortably could before shooting a shaky grin at Envoy. "So... ah... Envoy, right?"

" **Indeed!"**  The golem nodded energetically in confirmation.

"Uh... yeah..." Twilight swallowed uncomfortably as she scratched the back of her neck. "So... what... brings you...?"

FLASH!

Twilight heaved a massive sigh of relief as the brilliant flare of a teleportation arose behind her.

"Twilight? Is everything alright?" Celestia asked as she looked about the room. "The message Spike sent me was quite..." The princess trailed off as she caught sight of the magical automaton. "Frantic..." She stared at it for a moment before shaking her head with a weary sigh. "You can relax, Twilight, it's just an Envoy, the Academia's classic messengers. Seeing as there appear to be no major changes to it, I believe it to be harmless."

" **Greetings -** _ **Tyrant Celestia-!**_ " Envoy greeted her without changing its voice in the slightest. " **A number of automated messages were prepared should any of us Envoys meet you. Would you care to receive them?"**

Celestia considered for a moment. "That depends... What's the first one?"

" **Burn in hell."**

"Should have seen that coming..." Celestia muttered as she rolled her eyes in exasperation. "I'd prefer  _not_  to hear the rest of the messages, thank you very much."

" **Understood!"**

"Um... Princess?" Twilight spoke up hesitantly, eyeing the golem nervously. "Why is it... here?"

" **I come bearing a message for the -** _ **head librarian-**_ **of the -** _ **Golden Oaks Library-**_ **!"**  Envoy repeated word for word. " **The -** _ **head librarian-**_   **for this establishment is listed as** _ **-Twilight Sparkle-!**_   **-** _ **Twilight Sparkle-**_ **, would you care to receive the message?"**

The unicorn glanced up at her teacher in search of guidance.

Celestia analyzed the golem for a moment before shrugging with cautious indifference. "As I said, Envoys are often harmless." She frowned as she continued to mull things over. "Though considering the origins of the message, I have no doubt that the words it carries are as much a weapon as any blade or spell. In the end, though, the choice is yours of."

Twilight nodded meekly as she thought for a moment before nodding once more, only this time much more firmly. "Envoy, I would like to receive the message."

" **Very well then! Message follows!"** Envoy clasped its hands together as it addressed Twilight cheerfully. " **Dear -** _ **Miss- -Sparkle-**_ **, this message is from the Academia Arcana's Department of Global Affairs. On account of -** _ **the collapse of the majority of civilized society-**_ **, the Academia's global presence has been severely diminished. Currently, the Academia has -** _ **zero-**_   **branch libraries remaining world wide. As such, in this state of emergency, the -** _ **Golden Oaks Library-**_   **has been nominated to incorporate a branch of the Academia Arcana. This is a great honor, and you have our sincerest congratulations!"**

"Absolutely not!"

Twilight jumped in shock at Celestia's sudden interjection. "P-Princess?!"

Celestia flinched as she realized that she'd spoken reflexively, casting an apologetic glance at her student. "I apologize about that, Twilight," she cast a glare at the golem. "That was meant for  _it_  and not you. I'm sorry, Twilight, but as impressive as your library is, this is obviously just a ploy of Scholar's to gather intelligence both on you and Equestria. He's done it before, 'honoring' libraries by offering them the chance to become branches."

" **Actually, that statement is false!"**

The ponies jumped as Envoy suddenly spoke up. "E-excuse me?" Twilight asked.

" **The statement given by -** _ **Tyrant Celestia**_ **\- is false!"**  Envoy clarified. " **The -** _ **Golden Oaks Library-**_   **is not the sole establishment to receive an offer to incorporate a branch of the Academia. At this moment, other Envoys are extending this offer to -** _ **452-**_ **establishments across** _ **-Equestria-**_   **alone, including but not limited to -** _ **Vanhoover Central Library-**_ **, -** _ **Library of Bahston**_ **-,** _ **-Hayvard University Library-,**_ **and** _ **-Manehattan Public Library-."**_

Celestia's eyes widened in shock at the statement before scowling darkly. "The only difference that makes is that it means I'm going to need to endeavour to root out which libraries are foolish enough to accept your offer before I put out a general warning to refuse you."

Twilight fidgeted as her mind went back to the intellectual discussion she'd had with Seath over studying Trixie's magic.

' _All the knowledge that could be gained from this, and Celestia wants to stop us from learning it?'_ Though she would never admit it aloud, Twilight found Celestia's decision to be… disquieting. ' _The only reason I can think of for her to block it is because it's dangerous.'_ Unconsciously, she bit her lip. ' _But...'_  "Princess..." she spoke up hesitantly. "A-are you sure that that's the best idea? I mean, after all... wouldn't it be best to... I don't know,  _regain_  whatever knowledge was lost in the past two thousand years?"

The Alicorn cut her glare off from Envoy in favor of shooting a pleading look at her student. "Twilight, I realize that this might sound counter-intuitive to you, but the knowledge that Scholar is offering is  _dangerous._  Complete, unrestricted access to the knowledge of the Academia Arcana... I... I can't even begin to  _contemplate_  just how much damage would be wrought as a consequence."

"I..." Twilight looked away hesitantly. "I realize that, but... it's just..." She was silenced by a hoof landing on her shoulder.

"Twilight..." The unicorn looked up in response to Celestia's pleading tone of voice, meeting her desperate gaize. "Please... I'm begging you... I have enough experience to know how these things end. How Scholar thinks and acts. Just... trust me?"

Twilight stared up at Celestia for a moment before bowing her head in thought. After a short amount of quiet contemplation, she looked up and looked her teacher in the eye. "I-"

" **Pardon the interruption!"**

Twilight and Celestia jumped - again - as Envoy suddenly spoke up.

" **But it is now time for the quote of the day!"**

Twilight blinked in confusion at the statement. "What's the quote of the day?"

Celestia snorted as she rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Just a childish feature Scholar liked to incorporate into varying golems so that they would share varying sentences and phrases that he or any other Oligarchs found interesting. Personally, I never contributed, I just found it annoying."

" **Incorrect! -** _ **Tyrant Celestia-**_   **shared -** _ **314-**_   **quotes over her tenure as an Oligarch of Concordia!"**

Celestia blushed self-consciously as she coughed into her hoof uncomfortably. "I -ah- t-that is to say- t-they were spread out over many-  _eurgh!"_  She slammed her hoof between her eyes and dragged it down her face. "Just... what's the quote, you barely-intelligent lump of basalt?"

Envoy crossed its arms behind its back as it drew itself up to its full height.

" **The quote of the day is thus: Beware of those who would deny you access to information, for in their heart they dream themselves your master."**

Celestia blinked as she processed the golem's statement.

Then everything became  **FIRE**.

" **HOW** _ **DARE**_   **YOU INSINUATE SUCH AN ATROCITY OF ME!? OF MY SISTER?!"**  Celestia snarled, blasting out as much pure, undiluted magic that she possibly could, directing it all upon the focus of her rage. " **AFTER ALL WE HAVE DONE TO PROTECT THEM, AFTER ALL WE HAVE DONE TO** _ **SAFEGUARD**_   **THEM!? YOU KNOW** _ **NOTHING**_   **OF WHICH YOU SPEAK, YOU WORTHLESS, INSOLENT, FECKLESS-** _ **RAAAAAAGH!"**_

Celestia's rage endured for either an eternity or an instant, devastating anything and everything around her until finally... she all but collapsed on her hooves, her legs shaking violently as she fought to keep herself upright.

The focus on keeping herself standing slowly allowed the anger to ebb away. As her body slowly regained its strength, so too did her anger seep away, so that by the time she could stand without shaking her anger rage had returned the usual everpresent spark of self-hatred kept locked in the shadows of her mind.

It was at that moment that Celestia jerked in shock, recalling the reality of her situation.

"TWILIGHT!" she shrieked, snapping her head up... and staring at the sea of obsidian that surrounded her in uncomprehending surprise.

Celestia worked her jaw in confusion as she took in her surroundings: it was like a vast, unending desert composed of pitch-black sand hand just  _frozen_ , melted into a singular mass of glass while in the midst of blowing away. The Alicorn swung her head left and right in hopes of getting her bearings, but then froze as she noticed the horizon; or more specifically, the lack thereof.

It was only upon looking up into the pitch-black, starless dome that was the sky that comprehension finally dawned on her.

"Oooooh..." Celestia breathed, nodding slowly in both relief and comprehension. "This place... I haven't been here in..." The Alicorn let out a massive sigh of exasperation as she shook her head and pressed a hoof to her forehead. "Those  _bastards..._ "

One swift exertion of her will on reality later and Celestia re-appeared in the Golden Oaks Library, causing a frantic Twilight to jump in shock.

"P-Princess!" she yelped, running up to her mentor desperately. "A-are you alright? A-a bunch of runes a-appeared and then you just  _disappeared_  and-! W-Where did you go!?" She snapped a furious glare at Envoy, who hadn't moved an inch. "What did that  _thing_  do to-!?"

"Twilight!" Celestia cut her student off hastily with a raised hoof before. "Twilight... I'm fine. And don't worry,  _that,"_  she snapped a glare at Envoy, which merely tilted its head in response to the attention. "Didn't do anything to me. I'm... afraid that was all me. In a manner of speaking, anyways."

"Huh?" Twilight blinked in confusion. "But... the runes-?" she squeaked in surprise when a ring of runes appeared around Celestia, winding through the air around her barrel.

"Voluntary and... actually rather ancient, my little pony," Celestia explained wearily. "They're designed to forcibly translocate us to a pocket dimension should we ever be..." She hesitated as she chose her words. "Overcome with emotions."

Twilight frowned as she attempted to understand what her teacher was saying. "W-why would you need anything like that?"

The Alicorn flinched at the question, bowing her head in shame. "High emotions usually lead to lowered inhibitions, and with the sheer degree of power we wield..." Celestia snorted in dark amusement. "Well, suffice to say that Scholar 'strongly' suggested we have them applied following an incident where Serpense melted an entire forest with his acid after Discord made one worm joke too many. And by 'strongly', I mean we all woke up the next morning strapped to slabs with the runes burning into our souls. Scholar included actually, which, considering his tolerance for alcohol, was quite the feat."

The unicorn mulled this over for a moment before speaking. "So... the reason why it activated now..."

Celestia winced, briefly cursing her student's intellect. "I... lost my temper... because of the words  _they_  explicitly chose. Twilight, I assure you that-!" Celestia froze mid-sentence, her words dying in her throat as she returned to the matter at hand. The princess worked her jaw for a moment, a myriad of emotions flitting across her face before she finally looked away without a word, slowly trotting towards the door.

"P-Princess?!" Twilight asked in concern, making to follow her. "W-what's wro-?"

"Do whatever you feel is best."

Twilight froze as she blinked in shock. "W-what?"

"Do... whatever you feel is best... with the offer..." Celestia repeated numbly, standing in the doorway of the library. "I... I can't say anything on the matter. I-I just, I… M-my words, a-anything I try to say..." The princess shook her head, letting out an uncharacteristic whinny. "Goodbye, Twilight."

And with that, she spread her wings and shot into the air like an arrow.

"Wh-  _PRINCESS CELESTIA!"_  Twilight shrieked, darting to the door. However, by the time she got there, the Alicorn was already a white dot in the sky, heading back towards Canterlot.

Twilight stared up in disbelief, trying to reconcile what she was seeing with what she knew in vain.

" **Pardon the interruption!"**

Twilight jumped-  _again!-_  as Envoy spoke up  _-AGAIN!-_  from out of nowhere. The instant she got over her shock, the unicorn snapped a glare at the golem. "Haven't you done enough already!?" she snarled, wisps of smoke rising from her mane.

The artificial being chose not to respond to the outburst, instead tilting its head to the side and wringing its hands. " **The Academia Arcana still awaits your answer -** _ **Miss**_ **\- -** _ **Sparkle-.**_   **Would you care to incorporate a branch of the Academia Arcana into your establishment?"**

Twilight continued to glare at the offending golem. "If I say yes, will you go away?"

" **Indubitably!"**  Envoy nodded in agreement. " **I will also grant you access to the full knowledge of what is currently the grandest nation in living history! Of course, I will also vacate the premises should you choose to decline instead."**

 _That_  caused Twilight to falter, wrenching her from her emotions and casting her to a tide of differing streams of logic. One stated that she should defer to the judgement of the most trustworthy and reliable person she knew, but said person had just deferred the judgement back to her not two minutes ago. Furthermore, another stream, a quiet,  _traitorous_  stream that wouldn't do her the grand favor of  _curling up in a corner and dying_  wouldn't let her forget  _those damn words!_

Ultimately, unwilling to pursue the train of thought any longer, Twilight's panicked mind swiftly defaulted, switching to a baser line of thought that offered a simple answer that could be summarized thusly: books equal good, safe. Fear bad, books make better. Get more books.

Hence, before she realized what she was doing, Twilight found herself saying "Yes," before swiftly clamping her mouth shut in mortified horror a moment later.

Before Twilight could contemplate reconsidering her answer, Envoy clapped its hands together in what seemed like eagerness, tilting its head back in such a way that widened its grin even further. " **I commend your decision, -** _ **Miss-**_   **-** _ **Sparkle-**_ **! Please hold for a moment while I establish the connection."**

The golem's eyes suddenly started painting the room with a light blue light. It slowly rotated its head, sweeping the room with the light until it finally stopped, focusing on a specific object. The golem glanced over at Twilight, cocking its head to the side as it pointed at the horse-head-shaped bust that was situated over the table in the center of the room. " **Does that figurine hold any significant historical or emotional value?"**

Twilight blinked in confusion. "Ah.. I-? N-no. At least, I don't think so, anyways..."

" **Then it is viable for usage as a terminal. Please hold for a moment."**  Envoy promptly floated up to the bust and clapped its hands on both sides of its head. Moments later, runes started to flow out from the golem's hands, winding down and around the equine effigy, engraving themselves into the wood.

Once the whole of the bust was covered, the runes flared with blue energy and the head seemed to buck, swinging its head around and displaying an astonishingly liberal range of movement. Once that was done, the head blinked its eyes twice. " **Connection established."**  It announced in an echoey, androgynous voice. It turned its gaze to look at Twilight. " **Greetings, Miss Sparkle. I am Oracle, an Automated Academia Research Retrieval Intelligence. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."**

" **Perfect!"**  Envoy chirped, clapping his hands together triumphantly as he turned to address Twilight. " **Thank you for your time -** _ **Miss- -Sparkle-**_ **, and I hope your time working for the Academia Arcana is both successful and educational. Have a good day!"**  And with that, the golem clapped its hands twice, conjuring a ring of runes around itself before vanishing in a blast of light.

Twilight blinked as she processed the development before finally looking up at the horse head. "So... ah... Oracle, right?"

" **Affirmative."**

"So... what can you...  _do_ , exactly?"

" **I am a fully automated information retrieval terminal. I am capable of translocating any books from the Academia's public archives, either for personal perusal or to loan out to patrons of the establishment."**

"Sounds simple enough..." Twilight mused before looking up suspiciously. "What's the catch?"

Oracle's runes suddenly shifted from blue to a menacing crimson in an instant. " _ **The fee for overdue books is the perpetrators life."**_

Twilight slapped a hoof to her face with a groan. "Yeah, that figures..."

The intelligent terminal's markings immediately reverted to their original color. " **That was a joke."**

Twilight barely managed to keep herself from falling over in shock before shooting the perpetrator a glare. " _Not_  funny."

" **Professor Magnus Scholar has been recorded finding that style of humor to be quite amusing."**

The unicorn gave the terminal a flat look. "Now that  _really_  figures..."

" **So I have been told. Now then, would you care to withdraw a book?"**

Twilight hesitated as she registered the question. "Ah... what... how many subjects do you have access to?"

" **The Academia Arcana prides itself on covering all subjects from, quote, 'acoustics to zoology,' end-quote."**

A shiver ran the length of Twilight's spine as she fought to keep any drool from slipping out of the corner of her mouth. The mere  _concept_ of having such a  _stupidly_  wide range of knowledge within her grasp was...  _intoxicating_  to say the least. Her mind jumped from subject to subject, devoting just enough brainpower to keep from jumping around repeatedly saying "Yes!" That had been embarrassing enough the first time.

Casting about for something, anything, to order her chaotic thoughts, her eyes fell on the scorch marks Celestia's emergency teleport had left behind. The sight was enough to immediately sober her thoughts, the events of the past few days (dear Celestia, mere  _days!_ ) speeding through her mind. Along with those events came the  _emotions_  as well. The hopelessness, the uselessness, the  _helplessness..._

Gritting her teeth, Twilight looked the terminal in the eye. "I want a primer on Concordian combat magic."

" **Understood. One moment..."**  Oracle bowed its head, its runes pulsing for a few second before looking up. " **I have a suggestion:** ' _ **How to Conquer your Enemies Via a Hail of Arcane Plasma and Other Methods of Magical Combat for Dummies.'**_   **Does this suit your needs?"**

Twilight considered the title for a moment before the natural scholar in her got the best of her. "Who's the author?"

" **Written by the Oligarch Pr-** _ **error,"**_  Oracle cut itself off, its runes flashing green as it tilted it head to the side. " _ **Archives out of date. Updating... update complete.**_ " Oracle looked back up again. " **Written by Tyrant Celestia."**

Twilight tensed furiously as she processed the statement. She opened her mouth to move on to another book, maybe move to another subject entirely - and then the memories made themselves known again. Twilight closed her mouth with a click, face set in a determined frown. "Yes, that works just fine."

" **Understood. Translocating tome now."**  The horse effigy opened its mouth, allowing a field of light and runes to shine on the table, runes flowing into place before solidifying into a large, leather-bound grimoire.

Twilight flipped the book open to its first chapter, scanning the title. "' _Chapter One: The Theory of Skirmishing,'_..."

In spite of the madness that had occurred in the past few minutes, Twilight managed to find it in herself to smile.

**-o-**

Luna took the stairs two at a time, barely resisting the urge to take to her wings; in the confined corridors of Canterlot Castle, such a move would only slow her down. Really, what Celestia was thinking when drawing up the blueprints for this castle, she would  _never_  know. Either way, upon reaching the top of the flight, Luna came face to face with the doors to Celestia's quarters, the guards standing at its sides snapping into firm salutes.

Taking a moment to compose herself, the Lunar Alicorn nodded firmly at the guards before flashing her horn in order to prompt the doors to open  _ever_  so slightly. She strode in through the gap, and the moment she was through she flicked her tail, the doors swinging shut behind her.

The temperature in the room was at a level normally the province of the Saddle Arabian deserts. At noon in midsummer. Never a good sign. Celestia herself was pacing back and forth in the center of her room, her lips moving in time to her thoughts, though no sound came out.

The smoke wafting from where her hooves made contact with the carpet did little to aid matters.

"Sister..." Luna started calmly.

" **This was** _ **never**_   **about becoming their 'masters,'**   **Luna!"**  Celestia barked, momentarily flaring up like a star as she shot a glare at her sister.

Luna cocked an eyebrow at the outburst, ignoring the triple-digit temperatures that were slowly baking the air. "We see that you are aware of Scholar's... messengers."

Celestia huffed and snorted furiously for a moment before allowing her magic to die down returning to her pacing. "It was never about that. Never, never,  _never..."_

Luna hmm'ed thoughtfully, tapping her cheek as though the outburst had never occurred. "Though, thinking about it, this ploy fits Chrysalis better. An unpleasant affair, to be sure, but what are we to do about it? We'd have students rioting in the streets if we tried to refuse them in light of those words. But... why are you telling Us this? We are not the ones you need to convince." Her eyes narrowed in thought at her sister. "That person is already in this room."

The temperature around the solar mare spiked as she let out an un-mare-like snarl. "All I wanted to do was  _protect_  them. 'Statistics' this, 'statistics' that... they were never  _numbers,_  they were  _ponies!_  They were sapient! Living, breathing  _beings_  with hopes and dreams and  _friends and families..._  We just-!" Celestia let out a snort of despair as she fell on her rump, shaking her head miserably. "We just wanted to  _protect them,_  damn it... We never  _wanted_  to control them..."

"And you believe we are controlling them now?" Luna pressed. "That perhaps we are, dare We say it,  _stifling_ them?"

The elder sister looked up at the younger with eyes filled with despair. "Not ten minutes ago, I tried to prevent my student, my  _student,_  who I trust above all else-  _oh you know what I mean!"_  she snapped when Luna's eyebrows shot up. "Above all other ponies of the  _current generation,_  from gaining access to knowledge because I claimed it was  _dangerous."_

"It  _is_  dangerous, Celestia," Luna asserted. "The entire point of letting Concordia fade was to let the existence of the Academia fade away." Her expression softened into a kind smile. "But We're glad to see you still hold your compassion, still care for the ponies of Equestria. We shall need it after this war."

Celestia tensed, shooting Luna warning look. "Luna, what are you-"

"Do you know what Scholar said to Us in Canterlot?" Not waiting for an answer, she continued on in a high-pitched approximation of Scholar's voice. "' _Can't, huh? That's what I thought. How you've always been. Sure, you can be vindictive at times, but end of the day? You always screw up at the last moment.'_ "

The blue Alicorn chuckled mirthlessly. "As much as it hurt to hear at the time, he was right. We have always been… held back, whether by my need for approval or old guilt for any number of actions." She snorted and stamped her hoof, leaving an indentation in the floor. "But Our ponies are in danger, so We say  **NO MORE!**  Stay compassionate, Celestia, for We are discarding all doubts and restrictions."

Power flared around Luna, power dark and terrible, before coiling around her and diving into her body. Her mane subtly darkened, a deep navy instead of the ocean blue it had been before. Two wicked fangs poked out from under her lips, and her pupils narrowed to cat-eyed slits.

" _All_ of them."

Celestia took in her sister's form. The transformation was not complete - her coat was still blue, and the size of both her body and horn hadn't changed - but other than that...

"You're becoming more comfortable with letting it out?" she queried gently.

"Yes," Luna answered with a controlled nod, her voice thankfully (in Celestia's opinion) unchanged. "It took much practice, and there was a… scare a few months ago, but We are steadily regaining our mastery of the Nightmare. Though, at this time a full transformation would likely require the Elements to undo, so it would be an option of last resort."

Celestia stared at her sister silently for a moment before taking a  _deep_ breath and visibly pulled herself together. "You will follow my orders in this. I have the seniority and I will not tolerate any actions I do not personally approve." She pinned her sister with a literally  _smoldering_  glare. "I hope that is not a problem."

Luna chuckled, shaking her head as she shifted her features back to normal. "Of course not. You have always been the superior strategist of us."

"That includes orders not from me, but from ponies I trust."

Luna grimaced, but gave it thought. "I… suppose I could handle that. I would like to personally vet them beforehand, however."

"Of course," Celestia nodded. "In that case, I will require you to attend the general assembly of military officers I will be convening in a week's time. We need to establish our Grand Strategy, and start preparing the economy."

"Ah, logistics," Luna rolled her eyes with a morose sigh. "What We would not give up to not be shackled by that beast…"

Celestia let out a tittering laugh as she strode out of her chambers, her sister following close behind. "Oh, Luna. I'm afraid that is one restriction you will  _never_ be able to escape. Now come..." She set her jaw with determination. "If we are to match Scholar move for move, then we must prepare to flip the world ourselves."

"In the eternal words of the bard Scholar refuses to name: Lay on, MacDuff."

**-o-**

Rainbow Dash swallowed heavily as she checked her angles, reconfirming for the umpteenth time that yes, she was alone, and that yes, she wasn't being followed.

Nevertheless, the pegasus mare blew out a fearful breath as she collapsed stomach-first on the cloud she was hiding in. ' _This is crazy, this is crazy, this is crazy...'_  she thought furiously. ' _What the hell am I even_ doing!?'

At the moment, the mare was burrowed into the middle of a completely inconspicuous cloudbank that was positioned over one of the hills that formed the border of Sweet Apple Acres furthest from Ponyville. As it was, she could only just  _barely_  make out her destination and as far as she could tell, it was nice and abandoned like she'd been told it would be, but nevertheless...

Dash flipped onto her back, placing a hoof over her heart as she fought to control her breathing. "Come on, come on..." she grit out furiously, raging against herself as much as anyone or anything. "Just...  _ergh..."_  she rubbed her eyes desperately before clopping her hooves together with a huff. "Alright, alright... This is ridiculous. I'm  _Rainbow Dash_ , I shouldn't be scared of getting spotted visiting Sweet Apple Acres. I do it all the time!"

' _Normally I'm not there betraying Princess and country, but-!'_

"ARGH! Forget it!" she ultimately snarled, slamming her hooves into her forehead.

Taking a deep breath, Rainbow Dash flared her wings and dove out of the cloud, plummeting towards the earth until she was skimming over the grass, hugging the hills as close as she could. Within moments, her target came within sight, looming over her: Old Oakley, a very large and very dead tree that had been on the edge of Sweet Apple Acres since before its borders had been established and had been standing there ever since, until death did them part even after that.

Unfortunately, as tree came into sight, so too did something else.

Or rather  _someone_.

"Ohnononono- _SHIT!"_  Rainbow Dash yelped, flaring her wings and digging her hooves into the ground in a desperate attempt to bleed off her speed and force herself to a stop. Unfortunately, just this once, her flight and flight reaction worked against her, sending her into an uncontrolled tumble straight at Oakley's trunk.

Luckily, or unluckily, depending on whose opinion you asked, she was forced to a halt by length of rope looping around her barrel and snapping her to a halt mere feet from the wall of ancient wood.

Rainbow Dash heaved as the rope snapped taut, forcing her to come to a very sudden and very painful halt. "Thanks, Applejack..." she bit out.

"Not a' pro'lem, sugarcube," the farmer grumbled out from around the lasso she was holding in her mouth. She then proceeded to spit it out and started unwinding the rope from her friend. "So, what brings you out here? Training your stunts?"

"Uh…" Rainbow said intelligently, before latching onto the lifeline Applejack had unwittingly thrown her. "Y-yeah, yeah! Exactly! You know how it is, new trick, still working out the kinks and all that,  _super_  dangerous. In fact, you should probably get, oh, a half a mile clear? F-for your own safety. Don't know how destructive this is going to be."

"Uh huh," Applejack deadpanned, the raised eyebrow practically screaming 'not buying it'. "Well, I don't see why ya gotta do it right over mah farm. If it's that dangerous to ponies, it's dangerous to mah family's trees, and Ah'd rather not have to replant any." Applejack suddenly gained a slightly shifty expression, glancing back and forth nervously. "Why don't you, ah, vamoose, alright? Go- go practice somewhere else, a'right?"

"N-!" Dash bit her tongue and brought her nerves under control before she could yell. "N-no, I can't do that. C'mon, Applejack, this is the closest place around where I know no one will get hurt. Just... just leave,  _please!"_

Applejack snorted, stubbornly pawing the ground with her hoof. "Dashie, yer mah friend and I love you like a sister, but this is  _mah_  land, where  _mah_  word is law, and right now, my word is that you need to git.  _Now."_

Rainbow Dash barely bit back a scream of frustration as she pumped her wings, giving her a foot over the earth pony. "Applejack, I'm only going to say this once: get out of here, please! I-it's for your own good!"

"Ah'm not movin' an inch, darn it!" Applejack spat, sticking her face in Dash's. "Ah'm giving you once last warnin', Dash: git off my property 'fore Ah  _buck_  you off it!"

Dash locked skulls with Applejack, growling aggravatedly. "Why won't you just trust me and  _get out of-!"_

Both of the mares were cut off by a hollow in Oakley's wood being lit up by an array carved into the inside of the tree.

"Applejack, I  _swear_  this isn't what it looks like-!"/"Dashie, I can explain-!"

Both of the mares cut off in shock as they each realized that the other was saying the exact same thing they were. Before either of them could come up with a response, there was a quiet but no-less piercing  _ding!_

The two froze as they slowly turned to stare at the hollow, taking in the two - not one,  _two -_  tightly rolled up scrolls that were tucked away in the wood.

Rainbow Dash slowly flapped up to the hollow and withdrew the scrolls with a shaky hoof, glancing over them briefly before holding one up for AJ to see. "I-I think this one's for you..." she breathed.

Applejack swallowed heavily before hastily snapping the scroll out of Dash's hoof with her lasso. Sadly, she as much as she wanted to deny it, it was hard to reject the fact that the seal was shaped  _exactly_  like her Cutie Mark.

Neither of the ponies looked at one another as they popped the seals and unrolled the scrolls, scanning over the alien yet somehow fully comprehensible runes that covered the papers.

The second their eyes reached the end of the scrolls, circles of glyphs flashing and burning into their retinas. The second their eyes cleared, large sigils flared over both the papers at once, covering them entirely before bursting into pure fire. The scrolls self-immolated in moments, ashes falling from the mares' hooves and blowing away into the breeze.

Rainbow Dash blinked as she tried to process what had just happened before swallowing heavily as the implications hit her. The pegasus immediately started to rack her brain in order to recall what had been written to the best of her ability... and froze in shock as she realized that 'the best of her ability' was  _way_  clearer than it had any right to be. It was almost as though the words were... burned into her...

A shiver ran up Dash's spine. "Okay, that is  _seriously_  creepy..."

"Tell me about it..." Applejack grumbled as she wrenched her hat down over her eyes.

The mares lapsed into silence as they stood apart from one another, both struggling to find something, anything to say to one another.

Finally, Rainbow glanced down at her friend. "AJ..."

"Ah've been buckin' the north hills since dawn an' you've been spendin' the day wranglin' a bank a' thunderheads that was rollin' in from the Everfree."

Rainbow Dash blinked in confusion before grunting in comprehension, looking away from her friend. "I didn't see you, you didn't see me. Got it." She rolled her shoulders and flared her wings. "Well, I'd better get going. Places to be, thunderheads to buck. Don't want to have lightning bolts hitting town hall again and all that, you know how it is..." She crouched in preparation for takeoff...

"Hold it."

And promptly froze.

Applejack stared at her friend silently for a moment before looking away. "So... yer loyalties shifted or somethin'?"

Dash's expression slackened for a moment before she steeled her back with a snort. "No... no, I just remembered my old ones. I've still got both, I just... ugh, what's the word when one thing is more important than the other?"

"Priorities?"

"Yeah, yeah. I've just... reconsidered my priorities, that's all. I still care about both, but... I can't just forget this one. I... I just can't." The pegasus glanced at AJ before looking away. "And what about you? You're really willing to lie to everyone about this? To us? To your family?"

Applejack snorted as she wrenched her hat down further. "T'ain't lyin' if'n I don't say nuthin' at all. 'sides..." She bit her cheek firmly. "Sometimes the truth can hurt somethin' fierce. It can make you... make you think about what's  _really_ important... moral duties and all that, ya know?"

Rainbow Dash nodded slowly. "Yeah... yeah, I know." She shifted uncomfortably on her hooves for a moment before coughing. "So, ah... see you later?"

"Yep."

And with that, the two parted ways, making tracks for their intended destinations, their exteriors seemingly calm but their interiors in turmoil.

**-o-**

Rarity let out a contented sigh as she looked over Carousel Boutique, pleased that everything was - mostly - the way she had left it.

A few odds and ends were out of place, obviously the result of Sweetie Belle having the run of the place for a day, but other than that nothing  _truly_  serious.

Rarity smiled daintily as she ran her hoof over one of her dress-adorned ponyquins, admiring her own stitchwork. Gorgeous as always, even when compared to the brilliant designs back in Vitrum!

The unicorn grinned as she recalled the array of fashions she'd witnessed back then, and started as a bolt of lightning ran through her mind. "Ooooh!" she squealed as she clopped her hooves together eagerly. "Ide~a~!" She hastily darted over to her gembox and flipped it open. "I'm going to need rubies, agates, garnets and-!"

She trailed off as she caught sight of the polished wood bottom of the container before sighing and hanging her head. "And more gems, period. Perfect..." She shook her head as she shut the box's lid. "I  _knew_  I was forgetting something..."

After sulking for a moment, Rarity brought her head up with a sniff. "Well, no matter, I'll just have to go to the quarry and get more tomorrow. It should be a simple enough matter."

She nodded definitively to herself as she went about preparing her belongings, a scarf here, a basket there, so on and so force. "Yes, yes, easy enough, I won't even need to bring Spikey-Wikey along. The poor dear needs a rest like none other as is. No no, I'll just need to go out, find a hole and make contact with the..." A shudder of revulsion ran the course of her body. " _Diamond dogs._  Ugh... As much as I wish I didn't have to deal with them, they're still good at digging up gems. No matter the fact that they're uncouth, ill-mannered,  _repulsive-!"_

Rarity promptly froze mid-motion as her memories of Vitrum returned anew, only this they recalled a far  _different_ part of her time there.

" **And who designed** _ **this**_   **lovely piece? The way the colors mix is** _ **spectacular!**_ "

" **Hm? Ah yes,** ' _ **White Moon Falls,'**_   **I remember this one. It was painted by a surprisingly expressive individual by the name of Ripper."**

" **Quite the name. Another of those lupen fellows I presume?"**

" **Mmm, close but not exact. He was a canine, yes, but not a lupen."**

" **Oh?"**

" **Indeed. He was a diamond dog."**

" **A-! I'm sorry,** _ **what!?"**_

" **A diamond dog. Is that so surprising?"**

" **A-are you** _ **joking!?**_   **Of course it is! Diamond dogs are imbeciles! Degenerate brutes without so much as a lick of artistic talent in their bodies! How could they possibly create something so-so** _ **beautiful!?"**_

" **You seem quite certain about your view on their species."**

" **A band of those canine ruffians accosted me not a few months ago and enslaved me! They forced me to dig up gems for them in their** _ **filthy**_   **mines!"**

" **Hmm... and you are certain that they are all like that?"**

" **Hm? Of-!"**

" **That they have** _ **always**_   **been like that?"**

" **-cou-! Ah- e-excuse me?"**

" **Are you certain that the diamond dogs were always such brutes? Because according to my experience, diamond dogs like Ripper were not all that unusual back in Concordia. Not common, no, but far from unusual."**

" **You… make a good point. Perhaps they were not always such uncouth brutes. But they certainly are now!"**

" **Hm. And do you believe that there is no hope for them to change?"**

" **Ah..."**

" **And do you know why they devolved in such a drastic manner in the first place?"**

" **..."**

" **I'll let you think on that. In the meantime, next we have a series of watercolors by a naiad by the name of…"**

Rarity's train of thought slowly jerked back into motion, prompting her to bow her head in thought. "Or perhaps I won't need to be  _so_  hard on them... maybe... I could just  _talk_  to them? Speak with them?"

She nodded slowly to herself, lost in her own thoughts. "Yes, yes, I'll... talk to them. I mean, after all..."

She shut the basket she'd prepared with a definitive click.

"What could go wrong?"

**-o-**

"And here  _you_  are, Mister Bluejay!" Fluttershy smiled as she tossed a worm up into the air.

The bird in question snatched the insect out of the air with a joyous tweet, singing its thanks to the mare.

"Oh no, thank  _you_ , Mister Bluejay!" Fluttershy waved the compliments off with a giggle. "I doubt things would look so good around here if you hadn't helped keep everyone nice and orderly while I was away."

Mister Bluejay warbled out a few additional lyrics as he swung one of his talons around.

Fluttershy's grin widened even further at the news. "I'm so happy to hear that Angel Bunny was such a big help! I know he can be rough at times, but I know he means well." She looked around her cottage's yard, scanning the small crowd of critters that were ambling around. "Speaking of Angel, have you seen him anywhere? I haven't seen him since I got back."

The bird chirped as it swung a wing towards the back of her home.

"Oh, in the forest? Alright then, I'll see if he's back yet. Have a good day!"

With that, the pegasus turned around and started to trot around her cottage, greeting her varying friends as she went. Out of all of her friends, Fluttershy's return home had been the smoothest. In all honesty, this came at no surprise on account of how she had the largest support system of them all waiting for her. Relatively speaking, at any rate.

Still, despite how comfortable she was, her return home wouldn't truly be complete without personally assuring that her precious Angel Bunny was safe and sound. Sure, he had a temper at times, and sure he could be belligerent, but at the end of the day she cared about him, and he cared about her. That was the important part, right?

Rounding the corner, she beamed as she caught sight of a familiar white silhouette exiting the treeline...

And promptly squeaked in shock at what she saw.

It  _was_  Angel Bunny, but to say the poor rabbit wasn't in the best of shape would be a severe understatement. He looked...  _mutilated,_  to see the very least. If even half the blood coating his body was his, and the angle his ear was hanging at... and were those  _bones_  sticking out of his pelt? It was as though he'd gotten into a fight with a bear and actually  _lost_  for once!

Fluttershy made to dart to her pet's side, to hold him, comfort him,  _help him_... before freezing as she noticed something: despite all the injuries, despite all the harm... Angel Bunny was still moving, still mobile, and he didn't seem to be in the  _slightest_  bit of pain. Or at least, if he was, he didn't show it.

About a foot out of the forest, Angel Bunny came to a halt Fluttershy pressed herself close to the wall of her cottage as the rabbit glanced around, his eyes thankfully passing over her. Once he was certain that he was alone, Bunny knelt over and started... cleaning himself?

Fluttershy blinked in confusion... before gasping in disbelief. Everywhere the rabbit's paws passed over his body, every wound every stain, was slowly disappearing. The second they were out of sight, the injuries just seemed to evaporate as though they'd been little more than a bad dream.

Within moments, the bunny was back up to perfect condition, back to his cool, confident, if somewhat arrogant self.

Before Fluttershy could process the development, the rabbit was on the move, hopping back towards her home.

Thinking fast, the Pegasus fluttered out from behind her house, smiling at the bunny endearingly. "There you are, Angel Bunny! I've been looking all over the place for you. What were you doing in the forest?"

Without missing so much as a beat, Angel scoffed and rolled his eyes, waving a paw dismissively.

Fluttershy smiled and nodded in understanding. "Well, I hope your family is doing well, and that they come by to visit some time soon. Now, how about we go inside for lunch, hm? I'll even make you whatever meal you choose!"

The rabbit promptly squeaked victoriously, pumping his furry paws eagerly before bounding into the cottage as swiftly as he could.

Fluttershy smiled after him the entire way before frowning in concern, turning to look into the depths of the Everfree.

Suddenly, home didn't seem quite so comfortable any more.

**-o-**

"Aaaand... GOTCHA!" Pinkie Pie whooped, slamming a sieve down on the counter, grinning eagerly as she twisted her head around, trying to catch sight of whatever was inside it. "Alright, mister time for you to OH COME ON! AGAIN!?" The mare threw her hooves up in frustration as she spun her head around the kitchen, searching for something,  _anything_  out of place. "GET BACK HERE YOU LITTLE WHATEVER-YOU-ARE!"

"Pinkie, dear, what are you doing?"

Pinkie spun around at the sound of Cup Cake's bewildered voice with a squeak of embarrassment, scratching the back of her head sheepishly.

"S-sorry, Mrs. Cake," she chuckled. "It's just that, well, you see... ever since I've gotten back,  _someone's_  been messing with my work!"

"Um... couldn't you just crack open a bag of flour or-?"

"Nonono!" Pinkie shook her head furiously as she continued fretting around the kitchen. "It's not Pumpkin or Pound, I put them down for a nap an  _hour_  ago! No, whoever's doing this is messing with the kitchen, moving everything around! Look!" She zipped to a cabinet and flung it open, indicating the array of bottles within. "See? The vanilla essence has been switched with the vanilla extract! And over here!" She jerked out a drawer and gestured at the cutlery. "Someone filed my ten-inch metal stirring rod to nine inches! And I swear that someone replaced my flimflammer  _with a bamboozler!_ "

"Uh... what's a-?"

"I... actually, I made those things up. But I bet that they would have if they existed!"

"I see..." Cup Cake lied, looking at her surrogate daughter in concern. "You're sure that you're not just misplacing things?"

"Have I  _ever_  misplaced, mishandled or mistreated my cooking equipment!?" Pinkie demanded indignantly.

"Er..." Mrs. Cake made to answer, but hesitated as she wracked her memories for an answer.

"Exactly!" Pinkie cried, jumping all around the kitchen, poking her head and hooves into each and every nook and cranny she could reach. "They've been  _interfering!_  Messing and fussing and...  _argh!"_

"But who's  _they,_  Pinkie?!" Cup Cake asked in concern.

" _I don't know!"_  The earth pony whined, flinging her hooves in the air desperately. "All I know is that they're small and fast and blurry and they  _keep using my shortcuts and GET BACK HERE!"_  she suddenly hollered, throwing herself into a cabinet, following a blur of motion through a flare of swirling light that was spinning in the back of the closet and emerging from a bowl of chocolate resting on the counter a second later.

"Gah! Puh!" Pinkie spat furiously. "Perfect! So not only do I need to wash the chocolate from my mane..." She licked the sauce off of her face, smacking her lips for a moment before screaming in frustration. "BUT THIS IS DARK CHOCOLATE!  _IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE MILK!"_

"Now now, Pinkie..." Cup Cake attempted to placate her charge. "I... well... w-what did you mean by shortcuts?"

The mare leapt out of the bowl and promptly started toweling herself off with a sigh. "The shortcuts are... paths. Holes that lead from here to there and everywhere. They're how I get around, where I store my things. I can't really explain it, but... I've been able to use them since forever. I..." She shook her head in confusion. "No one's been able to see them before, no one's barely been able to use them because you need to go in  _just_  right, and now these  _things_  are everywhere and  _USING THEM LIKE THEY WERE NOTHING!"_  She capped it all off with a fit of hoof-shaking directed at a trio of  _somethings_  that darted down the drain of the sink.

"Well, th-that's just… terrible, Pinkie," Cup Cake replied nervously. "But, uh, how should I put this…"

"You do know getting all worked up about it won't make it any easier, right?" Carrot Cake stated bluntly as he poked his head in. "I heard the noise and decided to check up on things," he said to his wife's questioning look.

Cup rolled her eyes at her husband's nosiness before returning to the pink mare. "Carrot's right, Pinkie. I'm sure that whatever's wrong will work out sooner or later. Just... calm down, okay?"

Pinkie sniffled for a second before nodding. "Y-yeah, alright... thanks, Mr. and Mrs. Cake. You're both really great." Pinkie stuck a hoof into her mane and pulled out... "What the heck?" She blinked at the lump of metal in her hoof. "This isn't my handkerchief."

Carrot narrowed his eyes at the metal suspiciously. "Hey... that looks like one of the bolts for the-"

KLUNK! SPLOOSH!

Pinkie's eye twitched furiously as a fountain of water gushed out of her mane.

"-kitchen sink..."

Pinkie sucked in a furious breath...

And promptly froze in favor of sniffing the air. "Hey, can you guys smell something?"

The Cakes sniffed the air and looked at one another in confusion.

"Uh...?"

"No, I don't think so..."

"One second..." Pinkie stuck her head into a drawer... and promptly withdrew it with a gasp. "OH-MY-GOSH-I-NEED-TO-GET-TO-TWILIGHT!" Pinkie yelped, cannonballing into the trashbin...

**-o-**

...and bursting out from between two textbooks detailing the intricacies of quantum physics and high-scale logical thinking. "TWILIGHT!"

Twilight reacted predictably, screaming and falling back in her chair, fumbling desperately to grab the grimoire she had flung into the air. "Pinkie!? W-where did you come from!? What's wrong!? And-?" She blinked as she  _really_  looked Pinkie Pie. "Why is there water gushing out of your mane?"

"There's no time!" Pinkie scrambled up to Twilight, grabbing her by her shoulders. "You need to come with me, quickly, it's an emergency!"

"What? What is it, what are you talking about?"

"The fountain in town square is on fire!"

" _WHAT!?"_


End file.
